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Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4

2016-05-18T20:29:53Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 4 - August Rhapsody==

===Part 1===

Hal was sitting cross-legged in a corner with a laptop on his lap. He began a video chat with Luna Francois who was in Japan.

Although this was inside a concession territory, there was reception from the Brooklyn signals, allowing for communications

'...That's the gist of the contract with New York State. I'll send the details to you by email to have a look.'

"Understood. So we ended up working as bodyguards, huh?"

'Indeed. Until the Hannibal issue is resolved, you will advise the Governor of New York as necessary in your capacity as a consultant while providing combat assistance on occasion as well. Well, that pretty much sums it up.'

Yesterday, Hal and his team had received a request from the Governor of New York.

Hal's group was invited to join the Hannibal Countermeasures Committee to handle incidents caused by the red dragon king as well as his declaration. Hal and his witch companions accepted the job and left the negotiation of contract terms to Luna Francois' full discretion—more precisely, the team of lawyers serving as her think tank.

Reporting the results to Hal, Luna smiled cheerfully from the screen and said, 'After all, no other suitable candidate could be found when the enemy is a dragon king. Even if you had stayed in Japan, Harry, we would most likely receive the same request. As for compensation and other terms, they have been handled according to our demands almost verbatim.'

"The financial side needs to be well taken care of too."

'No worries there. I have the connections to bring tax accountants and bankers to the table.'

Luna Francois remained all smiles.

However, her gaze suddenly turned sharp.

'During this period, if you were to do anything "naughty" with Orihime-san, I will say to you "I won't make anymore sacrifices for you unless you lavish upon me triple the love you gave her" in order to force your hand.'

"......"

'If you were to choose Orihime-san instead of me, Harry... I'll simply send you all to the grave by my own hand and destroy everything—That thought has crossed my mind, fufufu.'

"Please don't make that kind of joke with such a radiant smile!"

'Don't be silly, Harry, like anyone would joke around with you. I am 60% serious.'

"60% feels oddly real... Anyway, let's put that aside."

Hal changed the subject slightly forcibly.

"I'm still a bit worried about Asya."

'Huh?'

Luna Francois' reaction was quite unusual. She was stunned.

'Why this sudden concern? Isn't it your policy to let Asya roam the savanna, living according to her wild instincts, while you watch her uninhibited lifestyle with lukewarm eyes!?'

"No, we're just a pair of ordinary childhood friends, neither excessively nor insufficiently familiar."

'Then aren't I right? Neither acquainted to the point of excessive intimacy nor unfamiliar
to the point of indifference. Instead, 'lukewarm' in the middle.'

"Hahaha..."

'Oh dear, it is undoubtedly unusual for Asya to lose her appetite. Unbelievable. In any case, Harry, please observe calmly and report to me as soon as you discover anything out of place. I will try my best to find the reason.'

Speaking like a researcher conducting a biological experiment, Luna ended the video chat.

Taking the laptop he had been using for communications, Hal returned it to his bag then looked up into the sky.

"He's here huh..."

The red dragon's majestic form was flying in from the northern sky.

—Two days earlier, Hal had met Hannibal in the Old Manhattan Concession.

Before parting ways, the dragon king had made a request to Hal. He wanted a dialogue in person with the incumbent governor soon, preferably the morning two days later. Hal was permitted to bring the governor to the entrance to New York City.

'You mean Manhattan Bridge?'

'Yes. That was definitely the name of this island's bridge.'

Amazingly, Hannibal had remembered a location name from before Manhattan became a concession territory.

Through SAURU, Hal had conveyed the dragon king's request to the governor, who then agreed without hesitation. Hal thought it was only natural. How could anyone refuse a demand coming from the strongest dragon on earth?

However, what Hal did not expect was the other party's wish for a witness. Hence, Hal had to come along too.

"Now that I think about it more carefully, I have lived in coexistence with all of you in New York for quite some time—"

Having transformed to a human, Hannibal spoke sonorously to begin.

"However, talking like this face to face happens to be the first time. Hohohoho."

The smiling muscular man, standing 190cm tall, seemed to be in a good mood. He was dressed in a red jacket and acted no different from a human.

With a natural expression, Hannibal's attitude could even be described as friendly.

However, the humans opposite from him were extremely nervous with Hal as the sole exception. All the others were looking at the red dragon king silently with stiff expressions.

This could not be helped either. After all, they had just witnessed a particular scene.

The red dragon king had landed on Manhattan Bridge. His gigantic body suddenly shrank and took on human form—The entire process had been shown to their eyes.

Leading the humans participating in this meeting was the incumbent Governor of New York.

In addition, there was the Mayor of New York, the WotC leader—Christine—representing the military, as well as the governor's aide serving as the witches' commander.

Except for Christine, they were all late middle-aged men in their forties or fifties.

All of them had accomplishments, experience and strong personalities appropriate for such a lineup.

That being said, those people were still stunned and intimidated by Hannibal. Personally witnessing the dragon king's transformation had shocked them with fear and astonishment. Currently, they were cowering, feeling as though they could see the red dragon's shadow behind this well-built man...

To rate the governor and his entourage as "lacking resolve" would be too harsh.

Although Hal was now able to confront dragon kings while maintaining composure, he used to be intimidated even by elites such as Soth, unable to converse with them properly. A dragon king's awe-inspiring presence was incomparable.

Hal decided to take the lead.

"Anyway, let's sit down first. We have prepared seating."

"Yes."

Hannibal nodded in assent and Hal brought him to his seat.

They had moved some classy furniture, a long table and chairs, from a New York City Hall conference room to set up in near the middle of Manhattan Bridge. Due to taking into account the possibility of Hannibal showing up in human form, a seat had been prepared for him too.

Guided by Hal, Hannibal calmly took the seat for the dragon king.

Seats for the governor, the major and his aide were prepared ahead of time. They sat on the opposite side of the table across from Hannibal. Hal originally planned to standby with Christine behind these three VIPs, but—

Someone placed his hand on Hal's shoulder. Surprisingly, it was the governor.

(...May I ask what is the matter?)

(...Your seat is here. Sit next to me♪)

(...Huh?)

After whispering in his ear, the governor winked extremely intimately at Hal.

The governor was a handsome man in his early fifties and looked great in a suit. He also had a slim physique, probably because his hobby was playing tennis during weekends. Hal had heard that his father had been Governor of New York too.

A son from an Anglo-Saxon, protestant, political family.

The governor, hailing from a prestigious background as though in a picture book, was making an endearing smile at Hal.

(My job during this meeting should be something like a guard, right?)

(I would like to trouble you with the additional roles of translator and diplomat. You seem to be the most suitable.)

(Governor, demonstrating great leadership at a time like this would be what the populace loves to see...)

Hal responded quietly.

(Like negotiating directly with the leader of the dragons to resolve this situation.)

(Don't worry, there won't be a problem. We did not disclose this meeting to the media. Neither is it television. The original plan was to leave the actual negotiations to my aide, but I have changed our approach.)

The Republican governor spoke lightheartedly

There had been rumors that he might run for the next presidential election. He was apparently the type who left practical business for subordinates and experts to handle with a "I'm counting on you all."

The ability to suddenly change his attitude in the face of a dragon king could be considered leadership aptitude in a certain way.

...At last, flanked by Hal and his aide, the governor faced off against Hannibal.

Watching from the side, Christine smiled with a "heh" look.

Also, this meeting venue was located on Manhattan Bridge spanning across the Hudson River. The National Guard's ground forces and witches were standing by on the Brooklyn shore.

They included the trio of Asya, Orihime and Hazumi as well as the remaining three members of the WotC.

Should an emergency arise, they were probably going to rush over immediately to help.

"Then let us begin."

The job of facilitator naturally fell upon Hal.

"So what do you wish to talk to the governor about?"

"Nothing much. I simply wish to ask him whether he has any intention of yielding his position through ''chanrang''."

(...Tell him on my behalf, of course not.)

"Of coure not. By the way, there is no system of ''chanrang'' in democracy."

After listening to Hannibal, Hal exchanged whispers with the governor before conveying the message.

So-called ''chanrang'' referred to an ancient Chinese practice where the incumbent ruler would abdicate in favor of a successor of no blood relation. Hal spoke while feeling impressed that Hannibal knew this term, but—

"Indeed, there is no such system."

Hannibal responded candidly.

"However, it would be advantageous for the election if the reputable incumbent governor were to endorse the recommended successor—This tendency definitely exists."

"You sure know some weird things for a dragon..."

"Besides, there are numerous exceptions violating the system in your democracy."

"Huh?"

"Choosing a ruler based on popular opinion rather than royal blood or military force, isn't that the basis of democracy? Even so, from what I have heard, the custom of retaining political offices within the family is widespread across the world. It might be quite strange for an outsider like me to say this, but I do believe that would be undemocratic."

"......"

Of all critics, for a king of dragonkind to make an accusation of "undemocratic."

Hal looked to the side. The governor blinked in surprise, pretending he did not hear that. On both sides of his family, whether paternal or maternal, members had apparently served as Members of Congress, mayors, governors, ambassadors, etc.

Unfazed by Hal and the others' shock, Hannibal continued, "I heard that in every generation, the citizens of this country all desire powerful rulers. In that case, I don't believe there is any better candidate than me on earth. I intend to become Governor of New York first before running for president."

"Could you stop stepping up like a human politician?"

Entering the White House via New York was an ideal route to becoming president.

Seeing Hannibal so well-versed in human culture, Hal retorted, feeling utterly drained.

On further thought, Hinokagutsuchi had also mastered handheld games and chess through self-study, making them her hobbies. With her as an example, there was nothing unbelievable about Hannibal.

"Besides, what kind of policy do you intend to push once you're governor or president?"

"Good question. Actually, this is one of the reasons why I have summoned you all here. Please convey to the media the platform I am about to announce. Also, this is not a request."
[[image:Leviathan 05 164.jpg|thumb]]

Not a request—In other words, an order. Hannibal smiled proudly.

Spontaneously, his expression had turned from that of a friendly muscular guy to that of a ferocious conqueror.

"I... intend to lead the United States of America to war. I will cross the ocean to attack the land of Europe, winning victory and conquest as I please."

"!?"

"I will then proceed to take the opportunity to defeat my ally and longtime rival who resides over there—the Black Lightning Emperor."

The Black Lightning Emperor. A dragon king living reclusively in the Old Warsaw Concession.

Unlike Red Hannibal, the Black Lightning Emperor rarely showed himself. Roughly twenty years ago, he only appeared on three occasions in the Mediterranean, central Europe and the coast of the Black Sea respectively.

In Europe, he was the king of dragons extolling destruction, their leader.

"Of course, I could simply lead the Jabones—the winged lizards you know—and my minions to battle, but that would be too boring."

Everyone present looked at Hannibal blankly.

But being the spokesman, it was not acceptable for Hal to remain silent, so he conversed with the dragon king on his own.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing special. I simply wish for a more challenging fight."

Hannibal boasted proudly.

"I will lead a weak army from a weak country to declare war on a powerful empire of dragons and conquer it. That would entail a battlefield where victory is not guaranteed in spite of my mighty strength and military leadership. However, that is precisely what I desire. Compared to easy victories, I look more forward to arduous defeats!"

"A-Are you trying to play SLGs using the real world...?"

SLG was the abbreviation for simulation games where players employed strategy to build up their countries while annexing territory from enemy nations.

One could enjoy a relatively easy game by choosing a stronger nation in the beginning stage. However, it was possible to indulge in the joys of a challenging game by intentionally choosing the weakest nation to lead soldiers of poor morale—

In fact, Hal did not dislike methods of gameplay with additional constraints imposed.

He liked SLGs quite a bit. However, he felt compelled to refute the dragon king this time.

"I doubt anyone would cast their vote for a dragon that jumps out suddenly with this kind of platform."

"I have already considered that. In fact, I intend to destroy all weapons and military hardware on America's eastern coast during the election."

"......"

"To the populace that fears the winged lizards, I will tell them 'Gather under my banner, that of the strongest conqueror, and become my people.' If I enter a democratic election under such conditions, I believe there will surely be voters turning out in admiration of me, right?"

Sharing his idea that was too crude to be called a plan, Hannibal grinned.

"Nothing serious. Even if there is a temporary loss of property and weaponry, they can be robbed from elsewhere. All the people need to do is invade neighboring states or countries and plunder what they need."

"Sure enough, you hail from a warring tribe huh... This idea is quite barbaric."

The Huns, the Turks, the Scythians, the Mongols, Germanic tribes, the Vikings, etc.

Hal recalled many famous militant tribes in history. In fact, Hannibal's idea was a warfare model familiar to mankind since antiquity. These particular groups were especially talented at it. Even at the dawn of modern society, many armies would still rely on "local sources" to replenish supplies.

However, Hal reached a poignant conclusion.

Ultimately, Red Hannibal was a "noble savage."

He possessed outstanding intellect and perceptiveness. Despite being a dragon, he also commanded human charisma. He understood civilization and potentially enjoyed it.

However, he was a savage driven by primal senses through and through. This would never change.

Despite following the customs of civilized society, Hannibal still remained an unaffected noble savage—

"The people would probably ridicule and ignore this idea if it weren't suggested by a great dragon king..."

What a savage idea, simple to the point of being ludicrous.

However, there was a certain level of logic to it. Precisely because of this plan's simplicity, so long as one set it into motion and possessed power beyond the parameters of common sense, it felt like it might go surprisingly smoothly...

In front of the sighing Hal, Hannibal smiled mischievously.

"To be frank, I do not know if things will proceed according to my wishes. I will not know unless I try. No time to lose, let us start tomorrow. Send my regards to the residents of the state too."

(...Hey you! Negotiate more with him! At least buy us some time!)

"Oh, uh—"

The dragon king spoke casually as though he were simply pressing the start button on a game console. Hearing that, the governor panicked.

One could hardly blame him. If Hannibal were to put his plan into motion, it would imply attacking military facilities across the eastern seaboard. It was only natural for the governor to hope for a few day's delay. Stuck in the middle, Hal scratched his head.

"Before that, why don't we hold a referendum?"

"Oh? A referendum?"

"Yeah. Let's ask if the residents approve of a great dragon king running in the election without US citizenship, let alone membership in the human race. Let's collect the opinions from the true stars of democracy—the people themselves."

===Part 2===

"That's amazing... All the television channels are reporting about Hannibal-san."

"It seems like half the pages on newspapers are covering the story. It's really turned into a huge commotion..."

Hazumi and Orihime widened their eyes, thoroughly amazed.

At SAURU's New York branch, located in the neighborhood of Bedford at Brooklyn, Hal and his friends were having coffee in a lounge.

The room was furnished to resemble the style of an ordinary family's living room with sofas and a low table.

In front of them was a forty-two-inch flatscreen television, currently showing the evening news.

There was detailed coverage of Hannibal's "attack" over the past few days as well as a special program about his "aspirations and policy plan as a governor candidate" which he wanted conveyed to the residents of New York State.

Two days had passed since the meeting on Manhattan Bridge.

"B-But is it really okay to release such important news?"

"Had this happened in Japan, I don't think they would publicize this sort of information."

"If confidentiality were possible, of course nondisclosure would attract less trouble."

Hal was sitting in the sofa opposite to the two baffled witches.

Incidentally, they were casting questioning gazes at the person sitting next to Hal.

But although Hazumi was smiling like an angel as usual, Orihime seemed a bit unsettled with her entire body having trouble sitting still. Sensing awkwardness in the air, Hal continued, "There wasn't a choice this time. After all, the dragon king who provided the information is a loyal reader of various news publications. He's going to check whether the human side had released the news for real."

On the table were seven different newspapers from today.

Both national and regional newspapers had uniformly used "Hannibal News" as their headline matter-of-factly. Apart from that, the ''referendum'' to be held four days later also took up a lot of coverage.

Do you approve of Hannibal's candidacy in the election as a dragon?

A referendum was to be held to pose this question to the residents of New York State.

"However, the conversation leading to the suggestion of a referendum was very interesting."

The one who brought this up sonorously was Christine Hulk.

She had arrived at the branch twenty minutes earlier to see Haruga Haruomi and as soon as she stepped into this lounge, she planted herself onto the sofa where Hal was sitting, instantly staking out her territory.

With only ten centimeters between the two of them, it was far too close.

Staring at those two, Orihime's gaze looked very sad—Hal felt as though he were sitting on a bed of pins.

On the other hand, Christine spoke innocently without any regard for Hal's feelings, "When Hal calmly pointed out that a dragon without American citizenship won't be recognized as having the right to stand in elections, Hannibal snickered and replied that even immigrants should have a way to obtain permanent residency and citizenship rights. Hence, the two of them came to mutual agreement to hold a referendum to clear up the issue beyond a doubt."

"Rather than mutual agreement, it was more like playing a game."

Christine giggled and next to her, Hal shrugged.

"Whether saying he was going to run for president or lead America to war, Hannbial was totally like playing a game. His mindset is pretty much like playing an SLG with Earth as the stage. That's why I played along and suggested a 'voting game,' that's all."

It was purely good fortune that Hannibal was interested. Regardless, the two sides had reached consensus to hold an impromptu referendum in a few days' time, thus the objective of buying time at the current stage succeeded.

At this moment, they were making all sorts of preparations for what would come ''after the referendum''.

As a side note, running for the American presidency not only required citizenship but the condition of ''being born on American soil''. Naturally, Hannibal could not possibly fulfill this.

But in Hannibal's case, he was not even human. Hal had generously overlooked this detail.

"Well, you should be thanking Hannibal's playfulness rather than me."

"What are you talking about? We—including the governor—were only sitting there watching like scarecrows. This is really your accomplishment, Hal. Nothing less expected from you, Hal!"

"!? Y-You're too close, Chris!"

Christine suddenly hugged Hal, wrapping her arms around his neck.

This intimate act was going a bit overboard. Christine's abrupt body language rendered Hazumi speechless. Then Hal suddenly heard a "klonk."

Orihime accidentally dropped her coffee cup just as she was about to take a sip.

Fortunately, the cup did not break and there was only a little bit of the black liquid remaining.

"M-My apologies! My hand slipped!"

"Nee-sama, are you okay!?"

Orihime knelt down to wipe the spilt coffee on the ground.

Hazumi and Hal also took out tissues to help. While the three of them were bent over to clean up the spill, Hal happened to meet Orihime's gaze.

Always lively and cheerful, she was displaying an expression that Hal had never seen before.

Orihime was looking at Haruga Haruomi worriedly. Then suddenly regaining her senses, she looked down sadly. Hal could not help but feel an urge to escape out of this place.

Just as he was about to follow his impulse to take Orihime outside to talk, just the two of them...

Christine, witnessing the whole scene in a laid back manner—

"...Don't tell me you're actually very popular, Hal?"

"Huh?"

Another bomb exploded.

"All the girls in the same team are intimate with you, living a fulfilling love life and working life every day—Something along those lines? It turns out you're actually unexpectedly capable. The first time I saw your photo, Hal, I thought you were an eccentric boy who likes to be alone... Fufu, I've discovered a surprising side to you, Hal."

"D-Don't just fabricate my personality on your own."

"R-Right! Haruga-kun isn't the kind of character that would appear in American dramas. He and I have yet to—"

Hal instantly retorted and Orihime shouted immediately—

Indeed. Juujouji Orihime suddenly came to a realization when she said the words "yet to" and hastily covered her mouth with her hands. Seeing this scene, Christine grinned like the Cheshire Cat and said, "'Yet to'? So you haven't started going out offically... Is my understanding correct?"

"@△※×□!?"

"So there's no problem even if I express my affection for Hal, right? Then let me ask him out to dinner for tonight."

"@△※×□@△※×□!?"

"N-Nee-sama!?"

With every sentence Christine spoke, Orihime widened her eyes.

Not only that, but she also showed a panicking and extremely confused look, her mouth opening and closing alternately. Hazumi hastily came to her side and tried to calm her cousin.

Speaking of which, Hal's classmate was not only a school idol but quite a jumpy person too.

Hal was just about to speak on Orihime's behalf when—

"H-Hold on. I—"

"Unfortunately, Haruomi already has plans. Tonight, he is coming with me to decipher the ancient text we retrieved a few days ago."

The one who interrupted was Hal's childhood friend.

Asya happened to open the door and enter the lounge. She was holding just a cup of coffee that was ostensibly brewed in the pantry without bringing any donuts or cake as a snack.

"This job requires Level 4 magical power at least. If you happen to meet this requirement, Miss Christine, I would implore you to lend your assistance... What do you say?"

"Sorry, but I'm only Level 3."

Christine extended her right hand to Asya who had suddenly interrupted.

"This is actually our first time talking face to face. You are the master-class witch, Miss Anastasya Rubashvili, aren't you? Just call me Chris."

"Nice to meet you too. It's also fine for you to call me Asya."

Asya shook her hand and Christine smiled cheerfully.

"You seem completely different from the rumors."

"Me? What kind of rumors are circulating about me?"

"They're quite mean, saying you're a beast and living proof of wildness, completely unable to settle down outside of battlefields. It looks like they're totally off base."

"Seriously, they keep making these weird jokes, it's quite troubling."

Smiling calmly, Asya conversed amicably with the witch from the East Coast.

Thus, she managed to sweep the earlier commotion under the rug. Seeing his childhood friend like this, Hal was struck deeply again—Sure enough, Asya was behaving different from usual.

She was even calmer than usual and very adept at handling people.

What on earth had happened to her?

"So, I'd like you to come clean with the truth quickly."

"You're suddenly talking nonsense, Haruomi..."

Two hours later, Hal and Asya were alone in a hotel room.

On the table in Hal's room was ''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

A heavy grimoire two sizes larger than A3. A steel-colored weapon—Hal's magic gun—had been placed on top of this mysterious book.

What Hal was making effective use of right now was his gun's power as a "magic wand" rather than its functionality as a firearm.

"Before accusing me of alleged crimes in my innocence, please report what transpired first."

"Well, sure... This gun is simultaneously my personal 'magic wand.' I'm currently asking it and Hinokagutsuchi to decipher the book," Hal explained to Asya who was showing a cold expression.

"Even if SAURU's research team tried to decipher it using conventional methods, they'd still get deceived by the obfuscation magic on this book. It could take them a decade to dig out the true content. Then it might take them another twenty years to decipher the text they finally obtained after so much trouble."

"How many years will it take Hinokagutsuchi-san to decipher it?"

"She said no more than five days."

"Meaning there's a pretty good chance we might make it before the referendum is held? Nothing less expected from a former dragon king and a magic item of Ruruk Soun. It's like cheating."

The deciphering had started the previous night.

As the guardian residing in the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi had not appeared since then. Hal wanted her to focus all her spiritual energy towards the task and did not take the magic gun out of the hotel room.

A situation requiring a weapon probably should not arise in the short run for now—

Hal had taken action precisely to take advantage of this. Starting since the previous night, he had strictly forbidden hotel staff from entering this room. Consequently, the room was a mess inside.

"That's pretty much the idea, so you don't really need to go out of your way to help, Asya."

"Of course I know that. It was simply an improvised plan to get Chris to leave."

"......"

"Jeez, it is quite regrettable that an unmotivated guy like you, Haruomi, the type that goes 'sigh, no helping it,' has suddenly turned into a hot stock. A phase of sudden popularity should descend on more carnivorous guys who work hard at attracting girls."

Asya shrugged and offered a highly critical opinion.

"Looks like this world is lacking in fairness and justice."

"I-I think all Chris wanted to do was casually tease me a bit. Think about it, it's quite a rare occasion since it's the first time for someone like me to appear in the modern era."

"I recall Hinokagutsuchi-san saying before that you're a second Solomon, reborn in modern times."

The childhood friend spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Why don't you try to imitate him and marry seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines?"

"Isn't that a story made up in the Old Testament of the Bible? Like hell anyone's gonna believe that! Besides, it's impossible for me to resemble King Solomon in any way."

"Even when you snagged two American girls, Luna and Chris, in such short time?"

"P-Perhaps I just happen to get along well with American girls, hahaha..."

"Please quit saying this sort of nonsense. Isn't there a suspicious atmosphere hanging over you and Orihime-san too?"

"—!?"

Hal was shocked by Asya's accurate comment.

It was possible that he felt something for the girl known as Juujouji Orihime—But he never expected Asya to be the one to point this out.

In matters on this front, his childhood friend was supposed to be even denser than Hal.

Then why was it Asya's turn to talk about him? Just as Hal panicked, Asya continued with her attack.

"Haruomi, you're really a troubling guy with no fidelity. And Luna even caught you unprepared and kissed you on the lips... Isn't that why you became overly conscious of Luna, preventing you from taking a decisive stand against her?"

"How could I possibly take a decisive stand against her? Luna is one of my comrades, also—"

"Also, you're wavering because of her aggressive courtship, aren't you?"

"......"

Asya swiftly came to Hal's side. Not knowing his childhood friend's intent, Hal tilted his head with a "?" In the next instant, Asya brought her lips near Hal's face in an extremely natural manner—

Then she kissed him. She kissed Hal right on the lips.

"Huh?"

"This is why Luna and Chris have you eating out of their palm. You need to reflect properly."

"Huh?"

"Well then, goodnight, Haruomi. Even if you dream of me and revel in shameless and immoral delusions... I will permit it this once as a special exception for tonight."

"......"

"Despite how I may look, I am your magnanimous and open-minded childhood friend. So see you tomorrow."

Leaving these words behind, Asya left the room.

Hal remained stunned for quite a while after that. His thoughts halted for ten minutes or so. Then finally returning to normal, his myriad thoughts began to spin furiously in his mind.

''Why on earth did that Asya ki... do that to me?''

In addition, his heart had been pounding the whole time, beating like mad nonstop. How odd.

"W-What am I supposed to do now!?"

In a certain way, this was a challenge of a lifetime, even trickier than fighting against dragon kings.

Forced to confront this all at once, Hal was plunged into extreme trepidation.
[[image:Leviathan 05 179.jpg|thumb]]

===Part 3===

"How's this, President!? I can do it too when I put my mind to it!"

Just as how Haruomi would chat with Luna Francois once a day, Asya also reported the situation daily to a certain person—President M in Tokyo New Town.

Back to her hotel room, Asya was chatting with the president through her laptop.

"I delivered the critical strike tonight. Haruomi must be in a state of 'nonstop pounding in his heart☆' with his thoughts all occupied with me, I'm certain of it!"

'I-I can't believe a loser like you were able to get this far...'

President M looked shocked on the laptop's LCD screen.

'I never expected you could bring about such a dramatic change through autosuggestion. This world is unbelievable.'

"Although I call it autosuggestion, it is systematic hypnosis magic after all. The unprecedented effect was produced by combining my magical power with my serious determination to apply hypnosis at full strength."

That night while they were touring Boston—

Asya had cast the magic of Hypnotic Suggestion on herself. She had told herself "to take care of the prey calmly and assuredly by any means necessary."

Asya went "ehem" proudly and puffed out her flat chest.

"I was inspired by my mother. Back when I was in elementary school, my mother taught me the ways of hunting and how to use air guns, but I failed to catch any prey no matter how I tried."

'So in your family, even your mother is a military nut...'

"Back then, my mother told me 'the key is to stay calm until the moment when the prey's throat is severed.'"

Asya recalled her mother's teachings.

"Be cool. You will regret impatience in front of prey. Pull the trigger twice. Recalling many iron-clad rules, I came to understand that they can be applied effectively in love, so I enacted this comeback performance!"

'Well, the romance methods of popular carnivorous girls definitely bear a resemblance to hunting, but—'

President M sighed.

'I am at a loss, overcome with emotion, to think that you managed to do the same.'

"It's all thaks to your teachings, President. All this time, I've been tormented by my inability to put into practice the content from your special training... But even so, it seems like the content was etched subconsciously into my mind, becoming a part of my flesh and blood."

Asya grinned nihilistically.

"While my autosuggestion was active, I was able to employ the various popularity techniques I learned as naturally as breathing. I could even go beyond what was taught every now and then."

'That has already surpassed technique to reach the realm of wild hunting instincts...'

Sensing instinctively the presence of a girl approaching Haruomi then naturally hindering her.

Clever image manipulation to make him suddenly think of Asya.

Then there was the surprise attack launched with precision tonight to catch Haruomi unprepared. These setups were essential for transforming herself from an ordinary childhood friend to a prospective romantic partner.

...All of them were beyond Asya's ability in the past.

"I'll concede that Luna and Orihime-san are ahead of me currently, but the situation is still salvageable. That being said, it would too rash to expect a reversal from a single strike..."

Asya calmly explained the approach she should take.

"Right now, I need to humbly admit my position as a minor player then make careful preparations repeatedly for battle. I have to be ready at all times to launch a blitzkrieg the instant a good opportunity presents itself."

'You are now capable of formulating strategies to make yourself popular!?'

"To be honest, the way I am now, I don't think that any boy will remain safe if I were to set my eyes on him."

Neither conceited nor bragging, Asya simply stated indifferently.

Asya was currently like a master general who remained calm at all times, concealing the battle spirit within. A sniper capable of enduring all manner of hardship until the target was struck.

However, President M said to this kind of student, 'Your dramatic level up is truly a joy to behold, but... How is ''that'' going?'

"Huh? What do you mean by ''that''?"

'Loss of appetite. After applying the hypnosis, you totally stopped eating, right?'

"Oh, nothing's changed, but I don't think there's anything to worry about. I don't feel unwell and I'm still in good health."

'Honest?'

"......"

Impressive as always, President M, the self-proclaimed "mother of all club members," was extremely observant.

Asya tried to respond in as cheerful a voice as possible, but the president spoke faster than her.

'Well, a secret technique to turn an unwanted loser girl into a warrior of love in a single night can't possibly not have risks. You must have noticed something no matter how faint, haven't you?'

"T-To be honest, I don't have a clue..."

'Then you are fortunate. Regardless, you have succeeded in evading a 'Game Over' crisis, so why don't you take this chance to dispel this boosted state? Do not be too greedy.'

"......"

'Then it's settled. If anything comes up, don't be shy, just call me. However, do not call when it's late at night in Japan. Staying up is bad for skin health.'

"Y-You're actually concerned about beauty care!?"

After revealing a shocking truth, President M hung up.

Asya switched off her laptop as well. This Japanese-made B5 notebook was a mass production model sold on the market but had amazing durability and battery life. It never had any data loss and remained virtually undamaged despite minor falls to the ground.

Military personnel often used this laptop on the battlefield due to these characteristics.

Switched off and displaying nothing, this approximately two-year-old laptop's shiny black LCD screen reflected Asya's face.

Seeing her own familiar face, Asya began to think back.

During that battle in the Old Manhattan Concession, Asya had promised to get rid of the enemy within twenty seconds but ended up going slightly over time. This inaccuracy had never happened to her before.

Asya did not think that it would pose an immediate problem today or tomorrow.

However, were it several weeks or even months later instead, perhaps—

===Part 4===

The referendum was to be held on August 16th.

Hal expected to remain in New York until after this event and the Hannibal problem had settled to a certain extent. If the situation were to show signs of becoming long-term, he would have Orihime and Hazumi, the two Tokyo New Town witches, return to Japan first...

A number of days had passed since he decided that.

The date on the calendar showed August 15th. The referendum was going to be tomorrow. That evening, Hal and Hazumi went out on a drive to go shopping.

"Excuse me, Senpai. May I ask you to explain something to me?"

They were on their way back after buying a large amount of daily necessities and snacks.

The car was driving along a street in Brooklyn. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Hazumi had her head tilted. She happened to be watching the evening news on the car navigator screen.

"This current story is reporting about the results from the street survey asking if people approve of Hannibal-san's candidacy where they answer YES or NO, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Since Hazumi had said she wanted to practice her English listening skills, Hal turned on the news for her to watch in the car.

When Hal nodded, the serious learner and junior student said in puzzlement, "The result was that 78% of New York City residents answered NO, 6% answered YES and 16% had no comment... Did I get that right?"

"Don't worry, you didn't make any mistakes."

"In other words, more than 20% did not answer NO... I am a bit surprised. There is a chance that Hannibal-san might become governor as a dragon."

"This kind of result is possible when you go around asking an indeterminate number of people."

With one hand on the steering wheel, Hal replied to Hazumi.

The sun was setting upon the streets of Brooklyn. Although not to the point of congestion, traffic volume was still quite high. Normally, residents would slowly move out of a major metropolis if it became as close to a dragon concession territory as New York City, resulting in a problem of underpopulation.

Tokyo New Town was a very good example, but New York City was one of the rare exceptions.

Perhaps it was due to the presence of dragon king Hannibal ended up deterring Raptor attacks—along with the vibrancy of the inhabitants and the city itself.

"In fact, there's a new religion in America that worships Hannibal as a New Age god."

"Ehhhh!?"

"The rest is just as Hannibal said himself. He's undoubtedly the most powerful leader in the twenty-first century... I guess? He's able to attract people who are outcasts in the economy or society."

"I-Is that how it works!?"

"No, I just made up the last part. Many social psychologists with famous TV personas on news programs will be analyzing this issue. I'm expecting something will be out tonight."

"Oh, then I will watch from my hotel room."

Hazumi seemed to be seriously trying to improve her English level. Seeing the junior student raise her clasped hands slightly while saying "I will try my hardest," Hal felt a gradual soothing of his soul.

Incidentally, one of the special powers of witches was aptitude for language learning.

They were capable of familiarizing with foreign languages with exceptional speed, reaching mother tongue proficiency within a month or two. After arriving in America, Hazumi and Orihime's English had been improving day by day.

However, the junior suddenly began to hesitate and spoke shyly, "B-By the way, Senpai... I'd like to ask a question but it's difficult to bring up."

"What is it? If it's you, Shirasaka, I can make a special exception and disclose my three sizes."

"Th-Then I shall proceed. A-After that time, what did it feel like when you went on a date with Chris-san!?"

"A date!?"

Hal jumped in surprise and said hastily, "No no no, we're not dating at all!"

"S-Sorry for asking so suddenly. It's been bothering me ever since that day, but I couldn't bring myself to ask..."

Three days ago, Christine had come to ask Hal out and hugged him.

After that, Hazumi and Orihime had acted as usual in Hal's presence. However, Hal realized there was something unnatural in their attitude if he thought about it carefully. This seemed to be the reason.

"H-However, I am relieved. I will let Nee-sama know when I get back."

Hazumi smiled, looking like a 100% pure angel.

She never considered the possibility of an unscrupulous senior lying to her. Soothed by Hazumi's purity once again, Hal asked apprehensively, "Could it be that Juujouji is also bothered by this?"

"Nee-sama didn't say explicitly, but I'm guessing yes. For the past few days, she has seemed distracted... But I understand, because it was the same for me."

"Huh?"

Sitting in the front passenger seat next to Hal, Hazumi bowed her head sadly.

"Senpai might be dating a certain girl... It feels very painful here whenever this thought crosses my mind, although I have no idea why."

With a soul purer than anyone's, she held her hand on her chest lightly.

Pain in the heart. Meaning—Jealousy? Hal could not help but feel moved while accidentally entertaining delusions about this sort of thing.

"You're feeling jealousy when girls approach me. In other words, this is the sense of loss stemming from your perception of me as something beyond a senior—an older guy akin to an ''older brother''!"

"I-I am treating you as my brother, Senpai!?"

"In other words, Shirasaka, you have a brother complex!"

"I see now!"

"Yeah, so feel free to call me 'Onii-chan'—No no. I shouldn't do this. I almost got ahead of myself."

Hal decided to behave. Although a fake brother-sister relationship had its charms, the bittersweetness of an immature senior-junior relationship was also hard to give up. He should not lose control from momentary impulse.

"Well, thinking about it carefully, perhaps it's the feeling of uncertainty from 'the possibility of someone by your side leaving you...' that's making your delicate soul stress out, Shirasaka. It must be something like that."

"Is... that really it?"

"It isn't?"

"Oh, but actually, I'm starting to accept it. If you were my older brother, Senpai, I would definitely feel overjoyed from the bottom of my heart..."

"—!"

Hal cursed the fact that he was driving at the moment. Were he not driving, he could go along with this wave of emotion and perform two or three somersaults, allowing his excitement to explode.

"Perhaps it's the same for Asya-san."

"Huh?"

"Because it feels like Asya-san and you have been quite distant from each other lately. She probably feels the same as me."

"......"

The truth was something else. It was Hal who was avoiding Asya.

Indeed. Ever since three days ago, after his childhood friend had done ''that'' to him, Hal had found it impossible to keep his emotions in check.

Whenever he saw Asya, Hal would inevitably think back to that and unable to calm his mind. Hence, Hal would naturally distance himself from his childhood friend when in the same space, to avoid speaking to her face-to-face as much as possible.

This had never happened before even though their inseparable relationship had lasted ten-odd years!

"Oh, how should I put it, that Asya—"

Just as Hal spoke up, he suddenly felt a pain on his right hand.

Using only his left hand to hold the steering wheel, Hal opened his right hand—The Rune of the Bow surfaced on the center of his palm. Next, Hal noticed.

"Hinokagutsuchi is calling me..."

Done. The deciphering of the grimoire, ''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''—

Several hours passed after the drive with Hazumi.

Hal's original plan for the night was to stay cooped up in his room the whole time, but—

"Excuse me for visiting so suddenly. It's because I wanted to discuss a few things with you, Haruga-kun..."

"No problem. It just so happens that I'm reporting my findings to Luna too."

Orihime paid a sudden visit.

Hal invited the worried-looking Orihime into his room and sat down at the desk again. The open laptop's screen was displaying Luna Francois' face. Hal was using an internet connection and a webcam to contact Japan. With great interest, Luna said, 'Then Harry, what was recorded in Solomon-senpai's grimoire?'

"As it turns out, the content is quite exciting."

The magic gun and Hinokagutsuchi had been in charge of deciphering the grimoire. The instant Hal returned to the hotel room and picked up the gun, the grimoire's contents flowed into his mind.

Hal had already told Hazumi, Orihime and Asya the gist of the contents.

During that time, Asya had listened calmly to Hal, infuriating him. At the time, he was thinking "you suddenly did ''that'' last time, spinning me in circles."

In any case, Hal started to convey to Luna the key points in ''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

"Solomon-senpai was in the same situation as me. He was also a human wielding the power of dragonbane—"

He had actualy used numerous incantations, mystic techniques and rituals.

Also, during the process of using the power of dragonbane, he had obtained dragonkind's knowledge. Knowledge regarding the runes of Ruruk Soun. In addition, there were the terms of the covenants between Solomon and the seventy-two apostles serving him...

That was the message recorded in the book's introduction.

—To my disciples or descendants living in the future world, you ought to inherit my rune and seventy-two apostles after mastering the wisdom in this book. You are Solomon's successors—

'Wow—definitely quite an exciting will.'

"'My rune' probably refers to the dragonslaying power Solomon used. The seventy-two apostles would presumably be the ancient leviathans he synthesized, I'm pretty sure."

Luna Francois smiled suggestively while Orihime looked at Hal uneasily.

In front of the two girls, Hal continued, "The final chapter, which was the hardest to decipher, left an incantation for ordering the genie of the lamp to bring the hidden treasure chest. Naturally, what lies inside the chest would be Solomon-senpai's legacy."

'How considerate. It must be fate that chose Harry as Solomon's successor.'

"I feel a little inclined to agree. So Luna, what are your honest thoughts?"

'If such a message were found written on an ancient text that took monumental effort to decipher, I might go accept the legacy with elation. However, this was translated easily just like that, which invites calm thinking. As a person who is not only calm but also very twisted, I think—'

On the thirteen-inch LCD screen, Luna winked mischievously.

'Too suspicious, forget about it this time♪ That's what I believe to be the correct answer.'

"I actually agree. 'Don't naively believe in a map that shows the shortest route to the treasure' is how treasure hunters roll."

'Traps should be placed in front of the treasure vault as well as along the return path when adventurers have lowered their guard.'

"E-Excuse me, Haruga-kun and Luna-san."

At that moment, Orihime interjected apprehensively. She was thinking for Hal's sake.

"Having lived so long ago, Solomon-san intentionally wrote in a simple and easily understood manner for the sake of imparting important information to future generations... Does this possibility not exist?"

"However, since he apparently maintained human form, his powers were even greater than mine."

Hal spoke quietly.

"Would he be that friendly? There's also Pavel Galad as a precedent. That kind of upfront personality even as a dragon, it's like playing a super high-difficulty game that delivers a sense of setback halfway through."

'King Solomon was probably the same as Harry and I. Calculative and twisted,' Luna said jokingly. However, her tone of voice then turned serious.

'However... Harry, don't tell me you intend to open the treasure chest?'

"I'm sorry to say that I'd like to give it a try. Would this timing be considered excellent or poor...? If the Hannibal problem didn't exist, I'd shelve this issue without hesitation."

'Yes... In your current condition, if by any chance a fight with Hannibal comes up—'

"Going all-out shouldn't be a problem, but I don't have a high chance of winning. Since losing is the likely outcome, I might as well take a gamble before that. Let me be the human sacrifice to challenge Solomon's treasure."

Hal did not want to talk about this sort of thing with such a sense of despair.

Shrugging, he spoke as frivolously as possible.

He had already informed his plan to his other companions other than Luna, which was why Orihime was very worried. She was worried about the reckless Haruga Haruomi who wanted to make a move on Solomon's legacy despite knowing the risks...

"It's also possible that Solomon-senpai is a good person like Juujouji said."

'—Ahh, my goodness!'

Luna Francois suddenly yelled in chagrin.

Hal and Orihime looked at the laptop simultaneously. The blonde girl who had stayed back in Tokyo said with frustration, 'Why did I ever agree to hold the fort, Harry!? Were I by your side this moment, I would undoubtedly cross the line with you without hesitation to develop an even more intimate relationship!'

"Huh?" "L-Luna-san!?"

In front of the speechless Hal and Orihime, Luna continued, 'Harry might end up like a candle in the wind as a result of taking on a dangerous challenge, you know? In that case, we should finish up what needs to be done between a man and a woman! It might turn out to be a final memory!'

"Th-That's too extreme an opinion, Luna—"

'Are you saying you don't care, Harry!? You don't care about developing that sort of relationship with me even in the face of a potentially deadly climax!? This is your best chance to satisfy a boy's worldly desire, you know!?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it..."

"H-Haruga-kun!?"

"Oh, uh, don't get the wrong idea, Juujouji. Umm... Think about it, I only answered like this because Luna isn't here in New York...!"

'This is so frustrating! If I were over there right now, I could seduce you with everything I've got and see how far I'd depending on luck and atmosphere... But Harry, we still have more chances, you know?'

"Chances?"

'Yes. When you return to Japan safely, Harry, I will—'

"L-L-L-L-Luna-san!? I-I believe such words should not be spoken too loudly!"

'And I've discovered this. If anything, Harry likes Orihime-san slightly more than me.'

Hal and Orihime jumped in surprise at Luna's comment.

In contrast, the blonde witch who had pointed this out added nonchalantly, 'It's time for me to bring out my trump card to catch up with Orihime-san. Listen up, Harry, know that Luna Francois Gregory is a girl who can do anything for you. You must return safe and sound, got that? It's a promise, okay?'

"A-Anything!?"

'Yes. Even though you are a closet pervert, Harry, I will humor your every wish and desire.'

Hal's call to Japan conclude at this point.

''What did that girl Luna promise me?''—Despite his great shock, Hal kept his expression tense. Orihime was next to him too. Right now, he had to maintain a resolute attitude.

However, the girl with the delicate relationship with Haruga Haruomi was currently glaring at him with eyes of resentment.

"Haruga-kun... Lust is written all over your face."

"A-Absolutely not. Hmm."

''Totally unconvincing'', thought Hal to himself. Naturally, Orihime did not believe him.

"Good grief! When you act like this, Haruga-kun, aren't you forcing me to wonder whether I should be doing something too!?"

"Huh? You feel that way towards me too, Juujouji?"

The instant Hal muttered that, the jumpy school idol suddenly came to a realization.

"Umm, uh, I misspoke just now in a moment of panic. My apologies."

"Y-Yeah. I thought so."

"No, but, how should I put this? I do admit that thoughts along the lines of 'I don't want to lose to Luna-san' exist in a corner of my mind..."

"Juujouji..."

The two of them naturally drew closer—At that very moment...

Knock knock. Someone suddenly knocked at the door. Then a voice spoke from outside.

"Haruomi. Please open up if you're there. I need to speak to you."

"Asya!?"

"The ritual for inheriting Solomon's legacy... I want to be present for it. We're carrying it out tonight, aren't we?"

Then twenty minutes passed.

Taking Asya and Orihime, Hal went to the hotel's roof.

The roof was not open to hotel guests. Hal and friends had entered through a staff access point without permission. To carry out the ''ritual'', Hal wanted to be outdoors and somewhere out of sight.

"Let's start."

The magic gun manifested in Hal's right hand. The two witches watched from the side. Orihime was observing Hal with concern. On the other hand, Asya had her arms crossed with a calm expression.

Damn it. Hal secretly cursed in his heart.

Asya had been like this all the time lately, acting as though ''that'' had never happened, putting Hal's mind in disarray.

''What the heck is Asya thinking? How does she feel about me?''

"...Thinking about it is futile."

Hal muttered in a voice too quiet for the girls to hear, then switched his focus.

For the past few days, his childhood friend had shown many puzzling behaviors. However, he would leave the mystery to be solved after handling his pile of work and requests. He needed to prioritize the matters at hand. Hal also decided to temporarily set aside his relationship with Orihime, who was becoming much more than a classmate or a friend—

He released magical power from his heart and transmitted it to the magic gun in his right hand.

Hal pointed the muzzle at the sky and focused his mind. He placed his finger on the trigger.

"I suppose the magic phrase is 'open sesame,'... right?"

A classic incantation for opening a treasure vault's door.

Hal recited the incantation associated with the story of Ali Baba and invoked Legacy Succession magic. It was a mystic technique he had learned from Solomon's posthumous writings.

Seven runes of Ruruk Soun appeared in front of the gun's muzzle that was pointing at the sky.

They signified "My disciples or my descendants, you are the successors of Solomon."

Hal pulled the trigger.

Shot out from the muzzle, the bullet of light pierced the seven runes and tore through the night sky.

"With this, the signal is sent. The genie of the lamp will then bring the treasure chest over. It might take a long time, though."

Solomon's mystic technique was left somewhere extremely ''far away''.

In comparison, the distance between Tokyo New Town and New York would be akin to an afternoon stroll.

Hal said to the girls, "Let's retire for tonight. We'll just have to see what fortune awaits next. We should also focus on work and forget the whole mess troubling us for the time being."

"You are... right. We have to survive the referendum tomorrow first!"

Considerate as always, Orihime instantly replied with a smile.

In fact, the "whole mess troubling us" was directed at his childhood friend in addition to Orihime, but Hal did not make it explicit. Asya nodded, calm as always.

When wearing such an expression, the atmosphere she exuded was frighteningly similar to Auntie Yulia's.

In any case, it was already 11pm.

The date would soon change to welcome the arrival of August 16th. The referendum for approving Hannibal's candidacy was about to be held.
<noinclude>

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-05-17T22:03:15Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining an exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must be feeling unwell or she caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's eat something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22 am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45 am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is a high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

<noinclude>

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Leviathan:Registration Page

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AndroidSLC50: /* Volume 5 */

To re-iterate the registration procedure:

*You are required to register which chapters you wish to work on. One portion of text per translator, please.

*Registration is on a "First Come, First Served" basis. Please register your intended chapters on the project's registration page.

*Maximum number of translators per volume is two, unless the volume is a collection of smaller stories. Another way to interpret this is no more than two translators should be working on the same "story arc".

*Translators may only register for portions of one volume at a time within each project. This is to prevent "biting off more than you can chew".

*The Registration page is not a binding contract, and translators are encouraged to negotiate between themselves which portions to register for.

*Anonymous Translated Contributions are required to inform [[User:Thelastguardian|thelastguardian]] and the designated Project Supervisor of the intend Chapters as shown on the corresponding Registration page before any major contribution.

*Portions that are not updated for a significant time may be taken over by another translator after getting permission from the Project Supervisor. The new translator is encouraged to start over to maintain consistency, but the old translation will not be deleted at least until the new translation is finished (and probably not for some time after that). More information is available [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1433 here]

==''The Leviathan of the Covenant'' Series ==

===Volume 1 ===
::*Prologue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 1 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 2 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 3 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 4 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 5 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Epilogue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Afterword - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''

===Volume 2===
::*Prologue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 1 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 2 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 3 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
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::*Afterword - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''

===Volume 3===
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::*Chapter 2 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 3 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 4 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 5 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Epilogue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Afterword - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''

===Volume 4===
::*Prologue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 1 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 2 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 3 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 4 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 5 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Epilogue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Afterword - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''

===Volume 5===
::*Prologue - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 1 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 2 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 3 - [[User:Zzhk|zzhk]] - '''Completed'''
::*Chapter 4 -
::*Chapter 5 -
::*Epilogue -
::*Afterword -

===Volume 6===
::*Chapter 1 -
::*Chapter 2 -
::*Chapter 3 -
::*Chapter 4 -
::*Epilogue -
::*Afterword -

<noinclude>
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Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-22T21:13:14Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Chapter 3 - New York, New York */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining an exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must be feeling unwell or she caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's eat something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22 am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45 am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 1

2016-04-22T21:08:04Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Chapter 1 - Inheritance Game */

==Chapter 1 - Inheritance Game==

===Part 1===

It was the latter part of July with summer holidays just having started.

Haruga Haruomi and several witches had visited Izu together on an impromptu expedition.

However, travels in July did not end there. A few days after returning to Tokyo New Town, the team was off on another journey. Not only that, the destination this time was not even within the country—

"...I've been seeing the sea a lot lately."

With a clear blue sky overhead, visibility seemed to stretch far above as though one could see all the way into space.

Naturally, they were surrounded by sea in all directions, because Hal and company were traveling on a JMSDF escort vessel, observing a ''military exercise'' from the deck.

Although Japan's climate was quite hot, this place was on a different level.

The sunlight shining from above was so bright that it was almost like violence. The temperature on the deck also kept rising. Hal's hair was hot from the sun. Parts of skin not covered by his t-shirt also felt scorched like being burned by fire.

After all, these territorial waters of the Solomon Islands were near the equator in the southern hemisphere.

"By the way, Luna, to what kind of TPO (time, place, occasion) do you owe your current attire?"

"What a way to put things, Harry. Kettle, please meet pot."

Faced with Hal, who was wearing a t-shirt, half pants and sandals, Luna replied with an unimpressed expression. As for the blonde witch herself, she was wearing a new swimsuit that she had bought prior to setting off from Japan.

"Don't worry. I am pairing it properly with military style."

On the previous expedition, Luna Francois had dressed in black as her usual motif.

But this time, her choice was camo print paired with a khaki pareo around her waist. That said, this was an escort vessel's deck yet unbelievably, she even had a flower wreath on her head.

Staring at Luna Francois' gorgeous appearance, Hal could not help but retort, "But I think you have to pick navy style instead of army style in this situation. Like a sailor uniform or something."

"Despite saying that, Harry, you're showing quite a burning gaze."

"......"

This could not be helped.

After all, she was bending forward while dressed in a bikini, approaching him as though to display her chest to him, emphasizing her upper body in a seductive cougar pose...

Despite his closeted traits, Haruga Haruomi was still a gentleman. Hence, he took exceptional care to avoid speaking his mind.

Nervously, he ordered himself to hurry and shift his gaze away. However, Luna Francois smiled blissfully while watching Hal's behavior.

"Fufufufu. I never knew it would feel this enjoyable to be subjected to the burning gaze from the boy I like. Hey Harry, could you look at me more, pretty please? Stare intently at me like this and don't look away, as though you're trying to drill a hole into me."

"Huh!?"

"Please. I'll throw a tantrum if you look away, Harry, okay?"

"E-Even if you say that, it's still our job to observe the military exercise over there, right?"

"Don't worry. Nothing should go wrong as long as Asya is present in matters of this sort."

Making eye contact with Luna's upward gaze, Hal felt even more unsettled.

On this day in late July, the Japanese military ship carrying Hal and company was not the only one to travel to the Solomon Islands. There were two other escort vessels and a submarine accompanying them.

—And now, even more ships had gathered in these waters.

From the American navy was a cruiser, four destroyers, and a nuclear submarine.

The Australian navy had three light destroyers. Apart from that, one could see ships from various countries including Canada, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Chili...

This was a joint military exercise gathering all the member nations of the Trans-Pacific Defense Organization.

As a side note, the Americans had even dispatched an aircraft carrier whose homeport was Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

The military exercise was to last two weeks. Although it was not a live fire exercise, the participating countries had to follow the prescribed scenario and cooperate with allied ships in joint tactical maneuvers.

Hal and company were participating in the second day's schedule.

Normally in this type of exercise, the imaginary enemy—in other words, the dragons—would be played by fighter jets or unmanned drones. However, the "serpents" from various countries were taking part in the exercise today as the enemy role.

Swimming leisurely in the ocean was a gigantic sea serpent leviathan.

Other types included a white whale that one could call Moby Dick, a shark with wing-like pectoral and ventral fins, an ancient fish whose entire body was protected by armor-like scales, etc.

Furthermore, in the air—

There was a Garuda with golden feathers, a phoenix flying while enveloped in conflagration and others leviathans—

A blue wyvern's gigantic body was also flying in the air.

Naturally, that was Rushalka. In addition, she was in Queen Form, equipped with chest armor and arms of ruby, her entire body giving off magic more powerful than any other "serpent."

Suddenly, Rushalka began to ascend rapidly.

Not only was she increasing her altitude but also her speed gradually.

Rising from dozens of kilometers per hour to hundreds, then subsonic speeds, she soon broke the sound barrier, ascending rapidly with explosive noise and sonic booms, penetrating the clouds within the blink of an eye, disappearing from the view of Hal and the others.

At the same time as this sudden and rapid ascent—

The jet fighter squadron and many "serpents" also withdrew from the sky above Hal and company.

They must have received orders to retreat through communication devices. Apart from that, the "serpents" and their partners had keenly sensed it. Terrifying magical power of great density pervaded the area and the source was ''above.''

This was the magical power radiating from Rushalka, who had disappeared to a super high altitude.

A minute or two after all irrelevant personnel in the way had gone off...

Rushalka began to descend rapidly. However, because she was in supersonic flight, it was impossible to capture her majestic flying form with the naked eye. The blue gigantic figure fell rapidly through the clouds to the tropical sea surface in a straight line, accompanied by sonic booms, making an emergency stop just before crashing into the sea—Everyone witnessed this astounding aerial mobility.

The blue wyvern's performance was not over yet.

Rushalka invoked Water pseudo-divinity while hovering at a height close to the sea surface. In the next second, the sea around Rushalka rose up in succession. Breaking established rules of physics, the huge amount of seawater towered into the air.

Literally ''pillars'' of seawater, there were unbelievably eight of them.

With Rushalka in the center, the water pillars had rose up in the eight directions of north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west and northwest respectively, reaching heights of almost three hundred meters.

—In a realistic sense, this performance was completely pointless.

It was like wasting a fighter jet's mobility on fancy acrobatics.

This was pointlessly wasting Asya and Rushalka's magic power, the Queen Form's energy and pseudo-divinity.

But at the same time, this was also a fantastic feat that no other witch in the world could imitate.

Even though Luna Francois and Glinda possessed the same level of ability, what they held was the attribute of Gravity, so logically speaking, they could not exhibit the same technique. One could safely say that the image of "the spectacular revival of Europe's former Shootdown Ace" had been carved into the minds of every country's military participating in the exercise.

Furthermore, the same went for "the potency possessed by the mysterious power known as dragonbane."

"Impressive as always, that's Asya. Don't you think so too, Harry?"

"Yeah. This was the aim in coming here, after all. This performance definitely did not betray expectations. Give her my share of navy curry later—Okay!?"

In the middle of responding, Hal jumped in surprise.

Dressed in a swimsuit, Luna Francois suddenly pressed against him, Her massive bust was weighing on Hal's back. If he had to express the impression in words, it would probably include "s-so soft" and "big and round like rubber balls with plenty of elasticity."

However, Hal stood his ground and spoke as a gentleman in a trembling voice, "A-Aren't we a bit too close...?"

"Being closer is only natural, isn't it? Because you keep looking at Asya, I'm jealous. It won't do if you won't look at me more."

"B-But Luna, you're behind me, right!? I can't see you like this at all!"

"Then hurry and turn around. Just embrace me from the front, Harry."

"Embrace!?"

If he turned around right now, the situation would turn into a passionate embrace with Luna.

Sweet temptation, like pouring honey and gomme syrup over candy, was making Hal's heart pound intensely. Just as he was about to turn around reflexively—At that very moment...

"What the hell is going on, you two!?"

An unexpected guest arrived suddenly.

Still with Luna hugging him, Hal forced his head to turn around.

Behind him, a silver-haired witch was standing sternly, glaring at the two of them sharply. Of course, her name was Anastasya Rubashvili—the girl nicknamed Asya.

"Good grief. I can't believe you were cavorting around in this kind of place while I was on the bridge to direct Rushalka... You two are outrageous!"

"Asya, 'cavorting' would be a little crude to be coming from a lady's lips."

"The one who was pressing her boobs against a boy has no right to say that to me."

Hal looked alternately between the angry Asya and the indifferent Luna while using his soup spoon.

Inside the mess hall at the escort vessel, the three of them were having a late lunch.

It was after 2pm at local time. The place was packed with people in SDF uniforms sitting around them. With the conclusion of the morning events for the second day of the joint military exercise, the crowd naturally gathered here for lunch.

Dressed in the same uniform, eating the same food.

It was like a scene from a school lunch. Being a high school student as well, Hal felt almost like he was sitting in a student cafeteria.

The main course was navy curry, a traditional menu offering passed down from the days of the Imperial Japanese Navy, plus a deep-fried chicken cutlet. Well, except that Hal's chicken cutlet had been forcibly confiscated by Asya as "an apology for all sorts of offense taken from his inappropriate behavior"...

As a side note, Luna Francois had changed back into her usual black dress.

"But even if you say my behavior was inappropriate—" Hal spoke between spoonfuls of curry.

"If I think about it more carefully, Asya, I don't think I've caused you any trouble, have I?"

"Of course you have! Witnessing you and Luna's indecent behavior, Haruomi, causes mental shock against my pure and innocent soul, which progresses to produce emotional turmoil. If that kind of scene was shown on television or in a movie, the sponsors would have protested long ago!"

"In that case, you didn't have to come along..." said Luna quietly, unfazed by Asya's angry complaints. A smile was hanging on the corners of her lips of her refreshingly beautiful face.

"According to the original plan, only Harry and I were supposed to come, you know?"

"A-Allowing you two to go out to sea alone is the kind of atrocious act that I forbid even more!"

Luna Francois was born in Oregon of the United States of America.

As a witch, whose activities were centered around the American West Coast and Hawaii, she was also the Trans-Pacific Shootdown Ace. With such accomplishments under her belt, she had built up an intimate relationship with the TPDO.

She had never missed the biennial joint military exercise held at the Solomon Islands, not even once.

On this occasion, she had invited Hal to take part together. Naturally, the purpose was not "to go out to sea alone."

By exhibiting the power of dragonbane on this kind of stage, their plans would surely reap profits in the future—

Hal agreed with Luna's view.

"Tokyo New Town would be left to Hazumi-san, Orihime-san and Asya to protect, while Harry and I use this military exercise as a public relations event with the future in mind. The distribution of roles was clearly assigned this way..."

"Personally, I'd prefer if at least one of you, Asya or Luna, could stay in New Town."

"Don't worry. If an emergency comes up, I'll tie you onto Rushalka, Haruomi, and deliver you back to Japan with priority supersonic flight."

The Solomon Islands were roughly five thousand kilometers away from Tokyo New Town.

To carry out such a long-distance voyage at supersonic speed would be an amazing feat rivaling the now discontinued supersonic passenger jet. However, it was definitely possible using Asya's magical power and Rushalka's Queen Form.

Even so, Hal could not help but mutter, "Then I'll have to endure the g-forces of supersonic flight the whole time? With a body of flesh and blood?"

"Don't worry. Given how you are now, Haruomi, you'll definitely withstand it!"

"Although that's probably true, I have to say no thanks!"

Haruga Haruomi possessed ''resilience allowing him to remain unscathed even when trampled by a gigantic dragon''. Apart from that, he was also capable of guarding his physical body with imperishable protection, hence Asya's idea was quite feasible.

Nevertheless, as long as he still regarded himself as human, Hal would resist to the very end.

Moreover, the crew of the escort vessel was having lunch in the surroundings.

These SDF officers had generously accepted the three high school students who were dressed in casual clothing.

It was commonplace for those involved with witches to be exceptionally young. Furthermore, after the frequent commotions caused by dragons in Japan recently, Hal's group had become widely known among the police and the SDF as the frontline combatant witches and the "mysterious consultant" who had stepped up to resolve matters.

Perhaps due to this reason, they were received by the escort vessel's crew with much cordiality.

Today's lunch was no exception. Although Asya had not made any demands regarding her navy curry, they still treated her to ''a small mountain of curry and rice on a plate twice as large as normal with three times as many cutlets layered on top''.

While savoring the crew's hospitality, Asya remarked with emotion, "Although I've spent time with various national militaries all over the world, the SDF's thoughtfulness in 'providing service without the other party asking' truly takes the cake."

"Just the fact that it doesn't feel stifling here actually makes it more comfortable than classrooms at school."

Compared to the space called the school, this place was closer to the world of Hal's childhood life.

Hence, that was why he found it more comfortable. That being said, they were going to return to Japan in a few hours.

Having made a striking impression on all the nations participating in the joint military exercise, the purpose of their journey would be considered accomplished. It would be best to hurry back home so as to reassure Orihime and Hazumi who were in charge of holding the fort.

"I wonder if there are any good souvenirs to buy around the Solomon Sea?"

After muttering to himself, Hal suddenly felt a bit perplexed.

There was a something unusual about his comment that prompted him to recall a forgotten memory—

"Hmm?"

Speaking of which, the name "Solomon" had been brought up last month.

===Part 2===

King Solomon—The ancient king of Israel.

His reign was said to have taken place around 1000 BCE. As the enlightened monarch who established Israel's prosperity, his name also appeared in the Old Testament of the Bible. There is one rather famous legend about him: Solomon was not only an ordinary king but also a great mage. In addition to subjugating seventy-two demons to do his bidding, he was even able to talk to animals and plants—

As a side note, the Solomon Islands did not have much of a connection to this king of Israel.

The name naturally stuck only because people discovered signs of gold there and called it King Solomon's treasure.

Currently, it was the next day, back in Japan after returning from the Solomon Islands.

Under the scorching summer heat, Hal was walking in a Japanese residential district.

The boundless view of the Southern Seas was long gone. Currently, he was at Monzennaka area in the Kōtō ward.

"In other words, that questionable legend about King Solomon as 'a great mage with numerous demons under his command' was actually based on a real person. Later on, the exploits of this person somehow became mixed up with King Solomon's, thus giving rise to the legend of 'Solomon the great sorcerer.' Am I right?"

"Mm-hmm. Basically."

What answered Hal's whispers was Hinokagutsuchi's voice.

She had not materialized. THe former dragon king's ghost simply spoke in Hal's ear to carry out the conversation. Fortunately, there were few people nearby, but from a bystander's point of view, it would have been rather disturbing.

"Also, I remember you mentioning last month about wanting 'to have the man named "Solomon" resurrected in the modern era.' What did you mean by that?"

The trip to the Solomon Islands had prompted Hal to remember what the former dragon king had said. Ever since, he would seek out Hinokagutsuchi to talk on every occasion, trying to get information about "Solomon."

"Well, that goal can be considered half complete already."

"Complete?"

"Mm-hmm. The man facing similar circumstances as the ancient Solomon has already been born."

There was laughter mixed in Hinokagutsuchi's voice.

However, it was the tasteless laughter of someone whose irresponsible joy was founded upon another's misfortune.

"He was a Tyrannos too. Obtaining the power of dragonbane as a mere human and even gradually mastering its use—Going as far as to make dozens of 'imitation' dragons his minions."

"...In other words, my predecessor."

"Rejoice. Know that you are the human who has attained heights closest to Solomon for the past millennia. The vast majority of the Tyrannos end up dying out on the field or turning into a dragon before that."

"......"

If Hal were to continue using the power of dragonslaying, he would transform into a dragon one day—

Recalling this, Hal sighed lightly. Although this was not a problem that could be solved by agonizing over it, if possible, he did wish to avoid such a fate.

"Judging from your case, it could be said that Solomon's legacy has benefitted you substantially."

"King Solomon's legacy? I have something like that in my possession?"

"What are you talking about? The 'imitations' used by contemporary humans—The methods to bring about their birth are precisely the mystic rites compiled by Solomon, thousands of years ago, by imitating dragonkind's arcane techniques."

"...The ritual for leviathan synthesis huh!?"

At the Izu shore, they had encountered a dragon subspecies.

It was supposedly created by elite dragons using magic. So the two systems of synthesis came from the same origin.

And the one linking the two together was Solomon the great mage—

"Those who know of Solomon's exploits are few in number nowadays. Back when I was still a dragon king, many magi and priestesses idolized him."

"Well, excessive fame would make it seem shady instead."

Hal remarked with poignancy.

Ever since the time of ancient Greece, many "grimoires of King Solomon" had circulated, such as ''The Greater Key of Solomon'', ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', ''The Testament of Solomon'', ''The Key of True Solomon'', ''Armandal'', etc...

Anyone with some interest in the occult would have heard of these titles, to greater or lesser extents, even if they were not experts on the subject of magic.

However, the contents of these books were absurd for the most part and ridiculed as the likes of idle gossip.

In fact, if experts like Hal were to see advertising along the lines of "the super grimoire of the great mage King Solomon!", they would likely laugh or grimace.

"Actually, a thousand years ago, I listened to a certain female mage's lifelong wish at the Dragon Palace Court—'O great Crimson Queen, I implore you to lend your divine assistance to resurrect Solomon the progenitor' or some such."

However—Hinokagutsuchi continued.

Before she could answer yes or no, the petitioner died first. It turned out that she had been tirelessly searching for King Solomon's magical secrets, dedicating her body and soul to reviving the path of unorthodoxy, despite being afflicted with a fatal disease.

"You're still remembering this? After all this time?"

Hinokagutsuchi's calm tone of voice naturally drew Hal into this topic.

"Mm-hmm. Perhaps her endearing face and seductive waist had something to do with it—Possibly."

"You're talking like one of those despicable pervert fathers, you know!?"

"Well, during this time, I have become old, experiencing a thousand years as a spirit. By the time I realized, the dragons that were supposed to be sleeping had already danced merrily back to earth, to extol springtime to their hearts' content. As for humans, I am afraid they will gradually decline and eventually exit the stage at this rate."

"....."

"That being said, it would be far too boring without the soothing sight of voluptuous maidens. Hence, an idea came to me. Suppose an opportunity were to present itself one day, I would bestow the Rune of the Bow upon a suitable human. It would be interesting if a lifelong wish requested of me in the past were to be accomplished now, a thousand years later."

"...I see."

To think there was such dramatic significance behind the dragonslaying rune he had inherited.

Hal could not help but feel overwhelmed with emotion. The greatest reason why he had survived till now was unbelievably due to a former dragon's king's momentary lustful whim.

"By the way, I can't believe it's Solomon. It's too ridiculous as magic-related information. Even professional treasure hunters like me have never investigated it seriously..."

Rather, amateur occult enthusiasts would be the ones to swarm all over it.

For an insider like Hal, it was too lowbrow a topic. Taking it seriously would feel embarrassing, which was why no one took the first step.

"Now for a change of pace, I'll muster up some of my true skills to check it out."

"Speaking of clues regarding Solomon, perhaps there is one that might be unexpectedly close by in your surroundings."

"What do you mean by that?"

While Hal was reeling from surprise at the sudden hint, Hinokagutsuchi said, "The flint in your possession was hidden by your father, wasn't it? Nevertheless, it is extremely rare for people to understand the value of that stone, even among those pursuing the path of unorthodoxy. The rare exceptions are limited to magi related to Solomon's lineage."

In other words—Hal suddenly realized what the self-styled devil was implying.

"Y-You mean that Pops was related to King Solomon?"

"Mm-hmm. Although it was a thousand years ago, back then, there was a mage cult that had inherited Solomon's magic and knowledge. Within their ranks were a few outstanding magi who regarded Solomon with adoring devotion."

"......"

"Perhaps your father was someone like that."

"Although Pops definitely knew how to use magic, he was at most the same level as me before I received the rune."

Indeed. Hal's father, Haruga Takafumi, was not a practitioner despite being a researcher of magic.

Apart from that, he was also a treasure hunter well-versed in history, archaeology, comparative cultural studies and mythology.

Well, despite all these shady titles, he was probably not a "mage who venerated King Solomon as his spiritual mentor," otherwise Hal would have known something about it no matter what as his son.

"......"

Hal thought deeply for a moment before taking out his cellphone.

While walking, he slid his thumb across the screen to type out a message. After selecting a few recipients, he sent out the email—He had nothing to lose even in the event of failure, after all. This bit of spent effort did not count as a waste of time even if it proved fruitless.

While thinking over these matters, Hal also reached his destination.

A place he had visited three months ago. He was standing in front of a samurai residence he had come to pay a visit with Asya before—The entrance of the Juujouji home.

Hal pressed the doorbell and waited for a while.

After a brief wait at the samurai residence's entrance, his friends, two young maidens, came out to greet him.

"Welcome back, Senpai!"

"Although you probably know this already, Japan has been very peaceful while you were gone."

Walking over to him with a radiant smile was Shirasaka Hazumi. The other girl—Juuojouji Orihime—was also smiling cheerfully as usual.

This combination consisted of the two most heartwarming witches Hal knew.

"You came too, Shirasaka."

"Yes. Because I heard you were coming to Nee-sama's house... I ran over."

Hazumi replied with a bright smile, slightly mischievously.

Hal nodded. This was a very welcome surprise. After all, Shirasaka Hazumi was the one and only "adorable junior of Haruga Haruomi."

"Great, I happened to have brought souvenirs for you too, Shirasaka."

"Really!? Thank you, Senpai!"

"In other words, Haruga-kun, about the task mentioned earlier—"

"Yeah, it's done. I definitely bought stuff at local shops."

Facing Orihime who was looking at him mischievously, Hal replied.

This was something he had promised her before setting off to the Solomon Islands.

'Time permitting, I hope you could bring back some local specialties, since Hazumi especially likes receiving souvenirs from abroad and things of that sort.'

As a witch, Shirasaka Hazumi had been shouldering the responsibility of protecting Tokyo New Town ever since childhood.

Due to a chronic lack of people capable of taking her place, she had to live a life of restricted travel. Naturally, she had no experience traveling abroad either.

After hearing about that, Hal decided he had to bring back souvenirs no matter what hurdles he must overcome.

Right before making the journey back to Japan, the military had transported Hal and company via helicopter to the Port Moresby airport on the island of New Guinea. Using the three hour layover before their civilian flight was going to takeoff, Hal had gone shopping at a local open-air market.

There, he had bought strange masks carved from wood, bags woven from wooden fibers, etc.

Orihime winked cheerfully in response.

"Wonderful. Given that it's you, Haruga-kun, I was originally worried whether you would forgot to buy gifts and end up with no choice but to pick up cookies at Haneda or Narita airport to complete the task."

"D-Don't look down on me. This sort of favor is just a piece of cake," Hal replied with a slightly guilty conscience.

In fact, he remembered past instances when he had done exactly what Orihime had speculated. Rather, it would be better say that the action of "buying gifts" itself was something that he frequently forgot completely during his travels.

Simply poor at social skills and being used to his life of flying all over the world without a fixed residence were presumably the reasons for this.

It was probably with this personality of Hal's in mind that Orihime had tactfully reminded him before the he departed. Her thoughtfulness was meticulous as always.

Even so—Hal suddenly found it incredible.

It was something that happened the day before his expedition when he had met up with Orihime alone and the topic of souvenirs came up.

Hal had told her: Due to work reasons, I have to stay at the Solomon Islands for five days with Luna starting tomorrow. Back then, Orihime had froze for a moment in surprise before—

'J-Just you and Luna-san, the two of you, alone...?'

She had asked timidly in a feeble voice.

Her seemingly fearful appearance did not resemble her usual self, which was cheerful and outgoing. Until he answered that Asya was going too, only then did she finally seem reassured...

Despite having acted that way, Orihime had greeted Hal with cheerfulness rivaling the summer sun just now.

"By the way, I did as you asked earlier and informed my grandfather of your arrival. However, his reaction was somewhat strange."

"Strange?"

"Ah yes. When Nee-sama passed on the message that you had something important to discuss with him, Senpai, Grandfather Juujouji immediately entered a bad mood."

Orihime and Hazumi had reported an important finding. Hal could not help but tilted his head after listening.

Could he have done something wrong and angered him? Yet today's main purpose was to have a meeting with Juujouji's grandfather. In any case, he had no way of figuring out anything without meeting in person.

Hal then asked the two girls to lead him into the house.

Prior to Orihime becoming a witch, Hal had visited this Japanese-style room as a member of SAURU staff.

The master of the Juujouji household was waiting inside. Last time, he had worn a solemn and dignified kimono and this occasion was no exception. The only difference was the fabric, which had changed to linen for greater breathability in summer.

Hal, Orihime and Hazumi sat formally in seiza opposite him across the table.

Orihime's grandfather spoke with severe displeasure right from the start.

"Let me make myself clear first. I shall not hand my granddaughter over to you."

"What?"

"......"

"......"

Cough cough. Hal cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, is there some kind of misunderstanding here?"

"You said you had 'an important matter' to discuss today, didn't you? To announce this before hand then pay a visit to my home alone... In that case, there can be only one possibility."

This was his reason for getting angry?

Hal subconsciously looked at Orihime, who responded with her eyes.

(My apologies, my grandfather keeps saying strange things...)

(He's an old man who's overprotective of his granddaughter as always. Sigh, anyway, I guess I'll just have to try to start the conversation.)

(Yes, let's do that. I will assist you as much as possible.)

Simply by observing each other's eyes and facial expression, it felt as though they could communicate telepathically.

Was this a reward earned through surviving many life and death situations together, or had some kind of bond formed between him and Orihime? Even without words, it felt like they could convey their thoughts to each other.

Discovering this fact, Hal smiled wryly while Orihime beamed.

"Please listen to me, Grandfather. You've made a mistake. Haruga-kun is simply here to talk business."

"Y-You are telling me that now, after exchanging flirtatious gazes with him in front of me!?"

"No, Juujouji is telling the truth. Actually, I will be quitting SAURU officially in the future to start a new company in partnership with my friends."

Hal put away his business smile and spoke sincerely.

"I will be offering a proposal to the various businesses and authorities that have been longtime sponsors of the Tokyo New Town witches—Juujouji Orihime and Shirasaka Hazumi. In the future, they could choose to hire us to carry out part of the witch support business currently undertaken through SAURU... Or rather, all of it."

Orihime's grandfather was not simply "an old man who was overprotective of his granddaughter."

Having held important posts at many publicly traded corporations in the past, he still kept his status as a part-time consultant. Not only was he a local celebrity but also a member of the committee sponsoring Orihime and Hazumi.

As expected, he immediately sat up straight after hearing Hal's proposal.

"Why this sudden decision?"

"Have you glanced over the report that Asya and I wrote? It's the result of our discussion about how to make better and more meaningful use of the currently discovered dragonslaying magic that still falls under personal property. If it's a good time for you, I actually plan on explaining it to you."

"......"

Orihime's grandfather thought deeply for a while then spoke slowly, "Tell me in detail. The various disturbances happening around New Town recently have already become a problem for us."

===Part 3===

It was afternoon on August 1, considered the official start of the summer vacation.

Mixed among the students who were attending club activities diligently in the middle of holidays, Hal made his way to Kogetsu Academy.

He was visiting the Witch Mansion's temporary underground location beneath the library. As soon as he entered the spacious room that was being used as a conference room, he noticed that all of his companions had already assembled.

"Now that Haruga-kun has arrived, I think it's time we got started, right? Everyone, let's begin the fourth meeting regarding the GUILD project's operation."

The female student serving as the facilitator, Mutou-san, announced in a relaxed tone of voice.

Applause—The girl with the twintails, Funaki-san, clapped her hands in response. Sitting next to her, Orihime and Hazumi also applauded. As for the professionals, Hal, Asya and Luna Francois, they went through the motions of clapping at least.

Although the members of the group were not in sync at all, it should be fine.

After all, the purpose of their gathering was not to go for karaoke after school.

"Anyway, let me start."

While saying that, Mutou-san opened up her personal laptop.

"This is the project plan I sent to all of you through email this morning. It's pretty much 'preparations for the imminent day of information disclosure.' Has anyone read it yet?"

"I've glanced through it."

It was Asya who raised her hand.

"I think the plan itself is quite good. And making effective use of the social connections cultivated through the UFO Research Club's activities is also an interesting idea. However, I was hoping for something packing more of a punch..."

"A punch?"

"Actually, I agree with Asya. I believe that we need more eye-catching content, or an idol character to focus everyone's attention."

While Mutou-san was taken aback, Luna Francois shared her opinion.

"Think about it. Not long after the return of dragon, all humans of the world were shocked by the televised video of 'the speech delivered by Hannibal, the representative of dragonkind,' weren't they?"

"Oh, that's the dragon that descended on the Rockefeller Center, right!?"

"Thanks to that, information about dragonkind was spread rapidly throughout the world."

"I see—Now that you mention it, that video's view count has accumulated to unbelievable levels now..."

Mutou-san crossed her arms and began to contemplate.

Next to speak after her was Hal. He asked Funaki-san, "About Pavel Galad—the dragon that transformed into a handsome guy—that you witnessed at Kanegafuchi last month, did you ever see him again?"

"Nope, never again. However, it seems like he's made several appearances in that area since then."

"Really!? How do you know?"

Hal leaned forward due to this unexpected news. Funaki-san laughed "fufu."

"I tried asking around near Kanegafuchi Station. After all, he's a conspicuous silver-haired foreigner. I went around and inquired 'Have you seen a hottie like him~?' and ended up with quite a lot of eyewitness accounts, mostly provided by women. I'll show you the results of the investigation in my notebook later."

"That's amazing. You're such a great help."

Funaki-san was a lively girl who loved gossip and juicy news.

Evidently, she possessed initiative and investigative ability beyond Hal's expectations. Although his original intention was merely to hire her to handle administrative matters, Hal had unintentionally secured a talented individual.

"Why not have her go with the UFO Research Club's Sakuraba-senpai to search for Galad together? I think if we just obtain some slightly more precise intel, we can leave the rest to the police..." Hal muttered.

Gathering information about dragonkind, to disclose to the general public—

This was the UFO Research Club's primary activity. And the member who stood as the club's information gathering expert was someone known as Sakuraba-senpai. He was apparently carrying out his "activities" diligently outside of school every day, which was why it was hard to find him on campus. Even Hal had never met him before.

However, Hal was finally able to obtain his contact details through Mutou-san and President M.

Someone capable of obtaining undisclosed images of leviathans through specific channels would definitely be quite reliable if he could recruit such a person to their cause.

Hal expected an audio recording of this meeting to be passed along to Sakuraba-senpai afterwards.

"By the way, about the audio records of this meeting—"

"I am in charge of that, Senpai!"

Hal allowed his sudden thought to slip out of his mouth and Hazumi immediately responded with a smile.

She had her notebook open and was writing down all kinds of things in an organized manner. A portable audio recorder was next to her hand. As Hal's assistant, she had everything meticulously prepared.

"Oh right, I have a message to pass to you, Haruga-kun."

This time, it was Orihime's turn to speak.

"A message from President M: 'Going all the way down to the basement is too much work. Just send the minutes over!' That's what she said. 'I will watch over you no matter what needs to be done, so go ahead and do it with no regrets!' She also said that."

"...Feels like a guardian angel and protective spirit combined, how reliable... I guess?"

He had tried approaching President M without expecting much, but the president ended up promising support.

Even without being present, her(?) suspicious repertoire of skills, open-mindedness and competence were still quite reliable. Hal's team lineup was gradually filling out.

At that moment, the conference room's door opened with a click.

"—Hello everyone, I've brought refreshments for you."

A rare visitor entered, carrying a convenience store bag.

It was a beautiful woman whose glasses matched her intellectual appearance very well. Having been promoted to the post of SAURU's Kantou branch chief, Hiiragi Yukari had gone out of her way to make a visit from the Yokohama branch between tasks.

Hiiragi-san put down the convenience store bag on the table where Hal's group was gathered around.

Inside was a two liter bottle of oolong tea, paper cups, several cans of coffee, snacks, etc. Then on the table, she placed a paper bag she had been carrying in her other hand.

This bag contained roasted rice crackers and had the words "roasted by hand on a coal flame" written on it.

"This is from Kenjou. I made a detour to the Mirokudou New Town branch just now and he specifically asked me to bring these along as an apology since he could not attend this meeting. He also asked me to send his regards to all of you."

Indeed, their lineup was gradually filling up.

When Hal shared his ideas with acquaintances inside SAURU, many of them ended up voicing their support. Furthermore, Hiiragi-san and Kenjou-san had promised to maintain confidentially until the time was ripe. After swearing an oath using the magic of Contract in God's Presence, they agreed to join as well.

Hal and company's plan was advancing surely and steadily.

That being said, the end goal was still very distant and there was no guarantee at all that he could follow it all the way to completion. Besides, there was still a rather challenging problem at hand.

The white dragon king—Princess Yukikaze. She was definitely not going to remain aboveboard indefinitely as now—

"...Looks like there's no need to collect more weapons for the time being. I have to catch up on other aspects first..."

Instead of speaking out loudly, Hal was muttering to himself.

Last time, he had obtained the Rune of the Twin Katana in the Izu waters. Having retrieved the ''aforementioned rune'' in secret, his dragonslaying runes were probably of sufficient quantity.

What he needed to accomplish now was a new mission whose importance was only secondary to the search for weapons.

After the meeting ended, Asya made her way to the Literature Club's room.

Her purpose was to meet President M. She was going unaccompanied. The other members had already departed.

The group had decided to get together for dinner. With Orihime and Hazumi present too, there was no need to worry about Luna taking Hal away...

"President, I've brought the minutes and the audio record of the meeting."

"Put it over there first. It's been a while. How have things been lately?"

The setting sun's rays were streaming in through the window, turning the Literature Club's room into a shade of orange.

President M was standing by the window. Her massive body, 140kg by visual estimates, was clad in what resembled a crimson maternity dress.

"A few days ago, you said on the phone that the girl called Luna has started charging around in a reckless manner recently, right?"

"Exactly! I really don't get how the gears of destiny turn. Luna suddenly said she l-l-l-likes Haruomi. It's terrible!"

Seizing the opportunity, Asya began to gripe all at once.

"Dragging Haruomi out on any pretext, she's thoroughly pursuing the tactic of spending time alone together!"

"Endlessly spamming the special attack that you want but isn't available to you, I see."

"Gyah!?"

"I originally thought that the romantic comedy situation surrounding Haruga would be stuck in a stalemate with Princess Orihime in the lead, but never did I expect a black ship to arrive. At this rate, that Haruga's going to be snatched away."

"W-What makes you say that!?"

"A power play from seductive flesh imported directly from America, plus the fact that he's a lecher."

"Ehhhhhhhhh!?"

"The only hope is for the hitherto laid back princess to awaken because an unexpected rival had shown up. As for the little angel, she is at a bodily disadvantage no matter what."

"P-President, what if I could rise to the forefront now as the childhood friend—"

"Isn't that impossible? Completely hopeless. Look, here's the principle. No matter what you multiply zero by, the result is always zero. This is the law of multiplication."

"No way! Then what's the point of all the special training I've been doing till now!?"

"But you have truly made no progress... I am astounded by your incompetence."

"Oooooooh!"

President M's accusation was quite harsh. Asya had some self-awareness too.

"However, your tireless perseverance is one of your strong points. Even now, you are carrying out some type of plan to oppose that American girl, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes. Actually, it's to prevent Luna from monopolizing an unchallenged position."

Only now did Asya puff out her chest in pride.

"Luna has been using a hotel suite as her residence all this time, so I barged in to make my home there! This way, I can stop Luna from doing sneaky things at night!"

"You fool. If you're going to stay at someone's place, why not move into the Haruga home directly?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't that a staple in juvenile novels aimed at inexperienced teenage boys? A cute girl invades the male character's home, thus imposing cohabitation by force. You could do the same thing and be done with it."

"......"

Listening, Asya felt that things were precisely how President M described them.

However, Asya still argued back as a maiden with a bottom line that must not be crossed no matter what.

"Th-That approach—feels repulsive after all. Invading a boy's home to live there tyrannically, that kind of thing..."

Saying that, Asya began to feel embarrassed, meanwhile feeling her cheeks turn red.

"I still think this is something that's only allowed after engagement or marriage!"

"I can't believe you're speaking like a pure and innocent main heroine when you're clearly in no position that could afford the luxury of making such statements..."

"B-But I am undoubtedly the pure and innocent main heroine, you know!?"

"Wrong. Wrong. Currently, you are undoubtedly a clownish variety idol."

"I-I can't believe you're using the twentieth-century term 'variety idol' to describe a maiden in the flower of youth!?"

"In your case, you might be better off with a case of amnesia."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. The situation started to shift dramatically in ''Madan no Ou'' ever since T●gre lost his memory and went missing. Despite being in a completely reset state, T●gre was able to cultivate a relationship with Elizaveta at his usual pace, even conquering ×× on the side (note: Volume 9 events)."

"I-I somehow get the feeling you're alluding to a different dimension!?"

"Anyway, that's that. The situation will only grow worse if you lack the resolve necessary to turn the current situation completely upside down. Without the slightest doubt, I dare assert that."

"......"

Completely reset—Just as Asya was feeling shocked by these words...

The cellphone in her pocket suddenly sounded with a message alert. Feeling completely exhausted by the continually shocking conversation, she took out her phone almost unconsciously.

Asya checked the email and reacted with surprise.

"Mom is coming to Tokyo?"

===Part 4===

"It's been a while, Haruomi-san. I'm glad to see Asya in such good health too."

These were Auntie Yulia's first words upon meeting Hal again after many years.

Prior to the reunion, all she had sent was a brief message stating "Heading to Tokyo tomorrow, scheduled to arrive at 11:17 at Haneda."

This message had been received on Hal and Asya's cellphones merely eighteen hours prior. As a side note, almost all of what used to be the heart of former Tokyo had been taken as territory for the Old Tokyo Concession, although the airport-less Ōta ward was excluded.

Currently, Hal and his childhood friend were sitting in a cafe inside Haneda airport.

Seated across the table and the three cups of coffee was a silver-haired woman.

Her name was Yulia Rubashvili.

In other words, Asya's mother. On top of her t-shirt, she was wearing a khaki short sleeve military shirt. On the bottom, she had a pair of black jeans. Draped over her shoulders, the light shawl accentuated her womanly charm.

"Please don't suddenly announce you're visiting the next day just like that. It's not like we're free every day either."

"Sorry, Asya. It's because the idea of making a visit only occurred to me suddenly yesterday morning."

Yulia replied calmly to her grumbling daughter.

Her voice and tone were so calm that some people might actually believe it if one were to describe her as a combat android from the future. Then there was her exquisite face. Sitting opposite this "auntie" who was present with her daughter, Hal kept thinking to himself what a beauty she was.

Not only were Asya and Auntie Yulia daughter and mother, but they also bore a strong resemblance.

Their faces could even be described as identical. Both of them possessed beautiful faces reminiscent of fairies, dreamy and delicate, combined with petite and slender figures, as well as gorgeous silver hair rich with vibes of fantasy—

However, there was a decisive difference between the two of them.

This was the fact that Auntie Yulia was a genuine cool beauty through and through.

Precisely at that moment, a middle-aged waiter brought their orders.

Pancakes, a hamburger, a club sandwich, a mille crepe, and a hot dog. Incidentally, only the hot dog at the end was what Hal had ordered to serve as a late breakfast. The rest were all Asya's orders.
[[image:Leviathan 05 046.jpg|thumb]]

After lowering her gaze to glance over this food, Auntie Yulia immediately said, "Asya, your appetite is hearty as ever."

"Don't worry. After all, a witch's job is very calorie intensive."

"Indeed, what you say is correct. Then keep eating at this rate, since all of it is for the sake of surviving the present, in order to pluck the fruit of victory in the future."

Auntie Yulia was a researcher at SAURU's headquarters in Istanbul.

Hal had heard that she used to belong to the air force of Europe's defense organization before giving birth to Asya, reaching the rank of major prior to her retirement.

As a result, she would sometimes speak with inexplicable strictness.

Encouraged by such a mother, Asya's eyes instantly lit up.

"As expected of you, Mom, you understand me best!"

"As for the price to be paid, perhaps you will have to bear the risk of ending up with your grandmother's obese figure. Well, this is theoretically unavoidable. I also believe that there is no need to sacrifice combat potential for the sake of dieting. Oh, but Asya, you must take precautions against diabetes—"

"D-Don't list out these potential risks if you're going to encourage me to eat more!"

Hal observed the mother and daughter's conversation while eating his hot dog.

He had set off from his home at Narihira Bridge without eating breakfast this morning, hence this was his first meal of the day. Come to think of it, Auntie Yulia's age was still impossible to guess from appearance.

With her fifteen-year-old daughter by her side, they looked like sisters.

To be honest, she was a woman who surpassed Asya in terms of the "Fairy Index."

"By the way, Auntie Yulia, you were on a business trip in Indonesia until yesterday, right? Is that why you took the chance to visit Tokyo New Town while you were at it?"

"Indeed. You are very up-to-date, Haruomi-san."

"Even as her daughter, I haven't heard about this."

"It's nothing really, because it was written in the fan club's newsletter. Auntie Yulia had already arrived at the Jakarta branch last week."

"E-Even you, Haruomi, have joined that suspicious club!?"

"How troubling. To think that I'm being treated as a celebrity when I am nothing more than an ordinary SAURU researcher. Frankly speaking, this is quite problematic for me."

"After all, Auntie Yulia, you're not only pretty but also a wonderful person too."

Seventy-eight SAURU members across the world had joined the "Club of Unlimited Support for the Exquisitely Beautiful Ms. Yulia." In fact, Hal had already joined as a member five years ago.

Hal put on a serious expression then said, "There are quite a lot of people who want Auntie to step on them or give them cold stares."

"How very troubling..."

"Gah. I-In that case, why don't they praise the daughter who is younger and more tender, or treat me like an idol? The men of SAURU are seriously blind!"

"Well then, I think it's time for me to get going."

There should be plenty of catching up between mother and daughter. Hal tried to show his considerate side, but Auntie Yulia shook her head and suddenly said, "Haruomi-san, this visit of mine to Tokyo actually includes business with you."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you send me an email a while ago? 'I hope you could provide details if you happen to know about the King Solomon case my father handled in the past.'"

" "——!" "

Hal and Asya gasped in unison.

After all, their families had been acquainted for generations. Asya's grandmother and her deceased father both knew Hal and his father.

To think that a source of information would immediately fly to him from nearby like the proverbial blue bird of fortune—

Auntie Yulia began to explain patiently...

"The problem with Asya is that even if you try to knock her out with a sedative, she'd detect it through taste and scent. She's almost like a wild beast."

The location was the luxury hotel where Luna Francois made her residence.

Hal was seated facing her in a lounge at this hotel. Hal had ordered a coffee while Luna had grapefruit juice. The two of them had picked table seating. It was after 7pm and if Hal and Luna were adults, they would probably be sitting side by side next to the window, drinking alcoholic beverages at this hour.

Unfortunately, both of them were still minors.

"There has been more than one occasion when I wanted to mix sleep medication into Asya's food so that I could invite you out for an evening spin while she was sleeping. However, I always dismissed the notion due to the high probability of futility. Whatever, there is no shortage of measures as long as I get serious, after all."

"Hahahaha..."

Hal laughed dryly. If chances of success were fifty-fifty, Luna Francois would definitely drug Asya without any hesitation.

"However, you are at fault too, Harry."

"Me?"

"Yes. I've clearly confessed my feelings to you, haven't I? Besides, we can immediately become a couple as soon as you consent. With that, a mere childhood friend like Asya will have neither right nor reason to interfere."

"......"

"It's all because you're imitating the romantic comedy staple of withholding your answer indecisively. That's why Asya could seize the opportunity to start interfering."

"Speaking of which, she's been staying at your place for now, right?"

"Although I could refuse and ask her to leave, the most that would accomplish is drive her over to the suite adjacent to mine. Since it's too much trouble, I tolerated her."

Just like Luna Francois, Asya was also a master-class witch.

Due to the financial compensation for their battle accomplishments so far, they had accumulated massive funds (Luna's level could even be called "an estate"). Even willfully splurging on expensive suites at luxury hotels would not cause much of a burden.

Hal could not help but tilt his head.

"Why is that girl Asya so intent on hindering you, Luna? Even when I asked her, all I got for an answer was that she had to keep the reason a secret from me."

"Ah wonduh whahy? How baffling, ah dudn geddit either."

"Hmm? Were you speaking a bit strangely just now?"

"Nope. You imagined it, Harry♪"

After chuckling with an impish smile, Luna Francois leaned forward.

"So, what did you figure out after talking to Asya's mother? You met up this morning, didn't you?"

"Nothing much, I tried asking about the whole story of how Pops got his hands on the flint... Turns out it wasn't a spectacular adventure story like Indiana Jones at all."

Shrugging, Hal began to recount.

—It happened to have taken place during the year 2000 CE exactly.

That was when dragonkind had recently returned to earth. Hal's father and Auntie Yulia were working at SAURU's New York branch. One day, the branch staff discovered a set of ancient artifacts named the "the posthumous writings of the great mage, King Solomon, and the cursed stone."

The one who deciphered Solomon's posthumous writings would be able to inherit the king's fortune.

The stone was a key leading to great power. Dragons would tear the holder apart. Hence, confidentiality was paramount.

...It sounded like a very fake advertisement.

No magical power could be detected from either the document regarded as Solomon's posthumous writings or the accompanying stone. Even so, Hal's father and Auntie Yulia still went through with the appraisal process just in case.

On that day, New York proceeded to be assaulted by numerous dragons.

"The Great Attack in the Year 2000... refers to that?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Leading his Army of Fire composed of a thousand Raptors, Hannibal arrived at New York by air, delivering a devastating blow to the US military in that attack."

Hal nodded in confirmation to Luna Francois' question.

"Incinerated by the flames of war, Manhattan Island was directly annexed by Hannibal to become his territory, thus giving rise to the Old Manhattan Concession."

"The so-called 'Great Attack' was quite a dramatic situation in and of itself."

"Yeah. After that, Pops and Auntie Yulia fled in desperation with only their personal belongings to evacuate from the streets that were under attack from Raptors. Back then, Pops happened to take that Solomon's stone by chance, which is also the flint I came across twenty years later."

Indeed. This was the secret stone hidden inside the Clockwork Mage.

"During their escape, Pops and Auntie Yulia were pursued relentlessly by a Raptor, unable to shake it off despite using stealth magic many times. Only after making their getaway successfully at last did they begin to suspect—Perhaps this was due to that 'dragons would tear the holder apart' curse."

As the story went, the stone was handed over to Hal's father in the end, who promised to contact Auntie Yulia immediately if he discovered anything.

"However, many years passed after that but Pops never initiated contact about the matter. Auntie Yulia completely forgot about it too."

Hal had previously tried to gather information about the flint—He wrote emails to those acquainted with his father.

But in the end, no one responded, not even Auntie Yulia. Simply mentioning "his father had hidden a stone belonging to the dragons" as a clue was not enough to jog Auntie Yulia's memory.

However, thanks to the "Solomon" keyword this time, his investigation did not run into the same problem...

"What follows is just my speculation. I think Pops probably kept that stone by his side to observe—And ended up with no results, which is why he didn't leave behind any information about the flint."

"Then why did he hide the stone in his pocket watch?"

"Because Pops has a finicky tendency just like me. He tried to obey the legend and hide the stone, so on a playful whim, he chose to hide it in his pocket watch, then he probably forgot all about it."

Hal brought up his unfounded speculation.

But considering his father's personality, his hunch was very likely to be correct.

"If he was seriously trying to hide it, he would've picked a safer and more secure hiding place. If he seriously considered it worthy of research, he would've left complete records behind at least."

"Speaking of which, Harry, there's one detail that I find concerning."

Luna Francois interjected at that moment.

"According to the current theory, the other artifact left behind at the SAURU branch in Old Manhattan... is very likely to be King Solomon's posthumous writings, is that right?"

"Yeah, I'd bet on it."

In fact, he had been reviewing satellite images with Asya this afternoon.

This was the latest photographic data of the Old Manhattan Concession taken by spy satellite. Standing tall silently in the Upper East Side area, it had escaped destruction from dragonkind's fires...

Luna's eyes instantly lit up after hearing about it.

"Then we must set off on an expedition to Old Manhattan. Obtaining King Solomon's fortune, which stood equal to the flint, should bring benefits without drawbacks."

"Yeah, you're right."

"For the past few months, our combat potential has increased dramatically... But still, it is not enough to take dragon king-class opponents head on. It is necessary to keep gaining experience to strengthen our combat power."

"Perhaps you're right."

Hal agreed with Luna from the bottom of his heart.

Truth be told, he had no confidence in securing a draw if he were to face Princess Yukikaze in a rematch. He barely survived the June battle only thanks to deploying the Crimson Queen as a surprise factor.

"Since weapon quantity has progressed swimmingly, it's time to trigger events like spectacular attack spells or ultimate summoned contracted beasts, etc."

"Yes, in order to pursue such possibilities, King Solomon's fortune is ultimately—"

"I'd really like to get my hands on it before the others. But the fact that the treasure is located at the Old Manhattan Concession would be a risk factor."

Hal muttered and Luna Francois responded with a smile.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Harry. Commit your determination and let us head out on an expedition to America? How about stopping by the West Coast along the way and make an appearance at my house?"

"Oh... Actually, about that..."

Hal found himself at a loss for words momentarily, unable to bring up his core purpose in visiting Luna tonight.

"I hope you could stay in Tokyo New Town, Luna."

"Eh!? What do you mean by that, Harry!?"

"Old Manhattan is considered the most dangerous zone even among concession territories. Old Tokyo can't compare to it at all. If we're going to infiltrate it, Asya and I should be the ones to do, just the two of us. In addition, there's no telling how long we have to be away from Tokyo... It wouldn't be good idea if both you and Asya were out of the country."

Through the Izu expedition earlier, Hal understood that Luna Francois was not the physical type.

In a situation where demands on stealth movement, survival skills, mobility and magic must all be met, the Asya-Hal combination would be the ideal choice. Conversely, if ''one of the two'' had to stay behind to defend Tokyo, Luna was also more suitable than the Georgian girl.

Not only did she wield a witch's power but also influence as a SAURU cadre.

Apart from that, she was a strong negotiator stemming from her ability to make judgment calls accounting for the big picture. Perhaps realizing it herself, Luna murmured glumly, "Well, since one of us must remain behind, I am confident that I could do a better job than Asya... However, Harry, this is a rare chance to go traveling!"

"A-Although it's traveling, it's also a business trip at the same time."

"Hmph. In any case, you're asking me to hold the fort with Orihime-san and Hazumi-san, aren't you?"

"As for that... Since it's a rare chance to visit the East Coast, I plan on bringing Juujouji and Shirasaka along. Making a trip to ''Salem'' should be a good experience for them."

"...!?"

A vortex of anger suddenly swirled in Luna's blue eyes—but it lasted only an instant before returning to the shine of rationality. Looking at Hal with a challenging gaze, she said in a sulk, "Then in that case, Harry, I will obey you if you give me a present right now."

"Huh, a present?"

"Yes, an advance reward for me, who will be holding the fort alone."

"Even if you tell me that suddenly... I don't know what to give you."

"It's very simple—If I do this, you ought to understand, right?"

Currently, the two of them were conversing with a low table between them.

Luna Francois suddenly drew her face up close to Hal's face. Then she closed her eyes, presenting her adorable and beautiful face in a seductive and vulnerable display!

"!?"

"Hurry up, Harry. Give me my reward kiss."

"R-Right here!?"

"Yes. Haven't the two of us done something similar not too long ago? Don't worry."

"B-But there are people around. And besides, we're not dating."

"It is a reward precisely because there are people watching. Besides, this has nothing to do with dating or not. I have already gone as far as to grant you permission."

Hal still faltered. Although guests at a hotel lounge at 7pm were not numerous, they were not absent either. In addition, there were three or four members staff on standby...

However, a voice surfaced in his heart.

—Unless Luna is satisfied, she won't agree to staying behind on defense duty. She might even take a flight to the East Coast in pursuit...
[[image:Leviathan 05 058.jpg|thumb]]

Armed with this theoretical backing, Hal was coerced into complying.

Timidly, he approached Luna's beautiful face and planted a kiss gently on her lips.

At that very moment, it became Luna Francois' turn to attack. She sucked and pecked Hal's lips lightly, savoring him tenderly.

Covering Hal's lips with her own, Luna sucked with audible smooching.

Finally, she even inserted her tongue to entangle Hal's, thoroughly enjoying the taste of a passionate kiss.

During this time, Hal could neither resist nor think, simply frozen on the spot.

This kiss persisted for roughly two or three minutes. Luna Francois slowly relaxed her lips and looked at Hal's face with rapture and desire.

"It is a request from my beloved Harry after all. I shall be an obedient girl this time."

"Th—Thanks."

"However, don't forget to reward me next time you need a favor, okay? Otherwise, I might shoot you in the back, Harry. With a large-caliber rifle meant for hunting elephants!"

Ten minutes after parting ways from Luna Francois at the lounge...

The pounding in Hal's heart still had not subsided while he walked to the hotel lobby with unsteady footsteps. This was already his second time sharing a kiss with Luna Francois. Every time was such an intense shock—

Just as he was walking in a daze, someone suddenly spoke to him.

"Haruomi, how did it go on handling Luna's side of things?"

"Huh!?"

He jumped in fright, only to see that the speaker was Asya.

"You just went to see her to ask her to stay back, right? What's the result?"

"I-It went very well, yes! After I told her the reason, she definitely understood!"

"Really? Looks like it was right to have you tell her directly, Haruomi."

Had Asya been present, negotiations might have broken down.

Hal had gone to meet Luna alone precisely because he was worried about that.

However, the scheming American girl could also kidnap Hal and take him out to the streets at night. Asya was probably waiting in the lobby for him to prevent that possibility.

After hearing about the outcome, Asya nodded with apparent satisfaction.

"Although I felt uneasy letting you go alone, Haruomi, dear me, with so many eyes in the hotel after all, even someone as audacious as Luna would have no choice but to behave!"

"Roight. Yeah, no problemo, totally no problemo!"

"? Haruomi, why are suddenly speaking in a funny way?"

"N-No, I didn't. Let's go home sooner to make preparations before the trip."

They had informed Orihime and Hazumi beforehand and he two girls had agreed to go to America together.

Although there was the uncertain factor of Princess Yukikaze using Old Tokyo as her base, the prey that might be found in Old Manhattan was too attractive.

After the Solomon Islands, another departure from Japan to overseas—

Hal and Asya exchanged nods and walked to the hotel's entrance together.

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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 1

2016-04-22T21:03:40Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Chapter 1 - Inheritance Game */

==Chapter 1 - Inheritance Game==

===Part 1===

It was the latter part of July with summer holidays just having started.

Haruga Haruomi and several witches had visited Izu together on an impromptu expedition.

However, travels in July did not end there. A few days after returning to Tokyo New Town, the team was off on another journey. Not only that, the destination this time was not even within the country—

"...I've been seeing the sea a lot lately."

With a clear blue sky overhead, visibility seemed to stretch far above as though one could see all the way into space.

Naturally, they were surrounded by sea in all directions, because Hal and company were traveling on a JMSDF escort vessel, observing a ''military exercise'' from the deck.

Although Japan's climate was quite hot, this place was on a different level.

The sunlight shining from above was so bright that it was almost like violence. The temperature on the deck also kept rising. Hal's hair was hot from the sun. Parts of skin not covered by his t-shirt also felt scorched like being burned by fire.

After all, these territorial waters of the Solomon Islands were near the equator in the southern hemisphere.

"By the way, Luna, to what kind of TPO (time, place, occasion) do you owe your current attire?"

"What a way to put things, Harry. Kettle, please meet pot."

Faced with Hal, who was wearing a t-shirt, half pants and sandals, Luna replied with an unimpressed expression. As for the blonde witch herself, she was wearing a new swimsuit that she had bought prior to setting off from Japan.

"Don't worry. I am pairing it properly with military style."

On the previous expedition, Luna Francois had dressed in black as her usual motif.

But this time, her choice was camo print paired with a khaki pareo around her waist. That said, this was an escort vessel's deck yet unbelievably, she even had a flower wreath on her head.

Staring at Luna Francois' gorgeous appearance, Hal could not help but retort, "But I think you have to pick navy style instead of army style in this situation. Like a sailor uniform or something."

"Despite saying that, Harry, you're showing quite a burning gaze."

"......"

This could not be helped.

After all, she was bending forward while dressed in a bikini, approaching him as though to display her chest to him, emphasizing her upper body in a seductive cougar pose...

Despite his closeted traits, Haruga Haruomi was still a gentleman. Hence, he took exceptional care to avoid speaking his mind.

Nervously, he ordered himself to hurry and shift his gaze away. However, Luna Francois smiled blissfully while watching Hal's behavior.

"Fufufufu. I never knew it would feel this enjoyable to be subjected to the burning gaze from the boy I like. Hey Harry, could you look at me more, pretty please? Stare intently at me like this and don't look away, as though you're trying to drill a hole into me."

"Huh!?"

"Please. I'll throw a tantrum if you look away, Harry, okay?"

"E-Even if you say that, it's still our job to observe the military exercise over there, right?"

"Don't worry. Nothing should go wrong as long as Asya is present in matters of this sort."

Making eye contact with Luna's upward gaze, Hal felt even more unsettled.

On this day in late July, the Japanese military ship carrying Hal and company was not the only one to travel to the Solomon Islands. There were two other escort vessels and a submarine accompanying them.

—And now, even more ships had gathered in these waters.

From the American navy was a cruiser, four destroyers and a nuclear submarine.

The Australian navy had three light destroyers. Apart from that, one could see ships from various countries including Canada, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Chili...

This was a joint military exercise gathering all the member nations of the Trans-Pacific Defense Organization.

As a side note, the Americans had even dispatched an aircraft carrier whose homeport was Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

The military exercise was to last two weeks. Although it was not a live fire exercise, the participating countries had to follow the prescribed scenario and cooperate with allied ships in joint tactical maneuvers.

Hal and company were participating in the second day's schedule.

Normally in this type of exercise, the imaginary enemy—in other words, the dragons—would be played by fighter jets or unmanned drones. However, the "serpents" from various countries were taking part in the exercise today as the enemy role.

Swimming leisurely in the ocean was a gigantic sea serpent leviathan.

Other types included a white whale that one could call Moby Dick, a shark with wing-like pectoral and ventral fins, an ancient fish whose entire body was protected by armor-like scales, etc.

Furthermore, in the air—

There was a Garuda with golden feathers, a phoenix flying while enveloped in conflagration and others leviathans—

A blue wyvern's gigantic body was also flying in the air.

Naturally, that was Rushalka. In addition, she was in Queen Form, equipped with chest armor and arms of ruby, her entire body giving off magic more powerful than any other "serpent."

Suddenly, Rushalka began to ascend rapidly.

Not only was she increasing her altitude but also her speed gradually.

Rising from dozens of kilometers per hour to hundreds, then subsonic speeds, she soon broke the sound barrier, ascending rapidly with explosive noise and sonic booms, penetrating the clouds within the blink of an eye, disappearing from the view of Hal and the others.

At the same time as this sudden and rapid ascent—

The jet fighter squadron and many "serpents" also withdrew from the sky above Hal and company.

They must have received orders to retreat through communication devices. Apart from that, the "serpents" and their partners had keenly sensed it. Terrifying magical power of great density pervaded the area and the source was ''above.''

This was the magical power radiating from Rushalka, who had disappeared to a super high altitude.

A minute or two after all irrelevant personnel in the way had gone off...

Rushalka began to descend rapidly. However, because she was in supersonic flight, it was impossible to capture her majestic flying form with the naked eye. The blue gigantic figure fell rapidly through the clouds to the tropical sea surface in a straight line, accompanied by sonic booms, making an emergency stop just before crashing into the sea—Everyone witnessed this astounding aerial mobility.

The blue wyvern's performance was not over yet.

Ruahlka invoked Water pseudo-divinity while hovering at a height close to the sea surface. In the next second, the sea around Rushalka rose up in succession. Breaking established rules of physics, the huge amount of seawater towered into the air.

Literally ''pillars'' of seawater, there were unbelievably eight of them.

With Rushalka in the center, the water pillars had rose up in the eight directions of north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west and northwest respectively, reaching heights of almost three hundred meters.

—In a realistic sense, this performance was completely pointless.

It was like wasting a fighter jet's mobility on fancy acrobatics.

This was pointlessly wasting Asya and Rushalka's magic power, the Queen Form's energy and pseudo-divinity.

But at the same time, this was also a fantastic feat that no other witch in the world could imitate.

Even though Luna Francois and Glinda possessed the same level of ability, what they held was the attribute of Gravity, so logically speaking, they could not exhibit the same technique. One could safely say that the image of "the spectacular revival of Europe's former Shootdown Ace" had been carved into the minds of every country's military participating in the exercise.

Furthermore, the same went for "the potency possessed by the mysterious power known as dragonbane."

"Impressive as always, that's Asya. Don't you think so too, Harry?"

"Yeah. This was the aim in coming here, after all. This performance definitely did not betray expectations. Give her my share of navy curry later—Okay!?"

In the middle of responding, Hal jumped in surprise.

Dressed in a swimsuit, Luna Francois suddenly pressed against him, Her massive bust was weighing on Hal's back. If he had to express the impression in words, it would probably include "s-so soft" and "big and round like rubber balls with plenty of elasticity."

However, Hal stood his ground and spoke as a gentleman in a trembling voice, "A-Aren't we a bit too close...?"

"Being closer is only natural, isn't it? Because you keep looking at Asya, I'm jealous. It won't do if you won't look at me more."

"B-But Luna, you're behind me, right!? I can't see you like this at all!"

"Then hurry and turn around. Just embrace me from the front, Harry."

"Embrace!?"

If he turned around right now, the situation would turn into a passionate embrace with Luna.

Sweet temptation, like pouring honey and gomme syrup over candy, was making Hal's heart pound intensely. Just as he was about to turn around reflexively—At that very moment...

"What the hell is going on, you two!?"

An unexpected guest arrived suddenly.

Still with Luna hugging him, Hal forced his head to turn around.

Behind him, a silver-haired witch was standing sternly, glaring at the two of them sharply. Of course, her name was Anastasya Rubashvili—the girl nicknamed Asya.

"Good grief. I can't believe you were cavorting around in this kind of place while I was on the bridge to direct Rushalka... You two are outrageous!"

"Asya, 'cavorting' would be a little crude to be coming from a lady's lips."

"The one who was pressing her boobs against a boy has no right to say that to me."

Hal looked alternately between the angry Asya and the indifferent Luna while using his soup spoon.

Inside the mess hall at the escort vessel, the three of them were having a late lunch.

It was after 2pm at local time. The place was packed with people in SDF uniforms sitting around them. With the conclusion of the morning events for the second day of the joint military exercise, the crowd naturally gathered here for lunch.

Dressed in the same uniform, eating the same food.

It was like a scene from a school lunch. Being a high school student as well, Hal felt almost like he was sitting in a student cafeteria.

The main course was navy curry, a traditional menu offering passed down from the days of the Imperial Japanese Navy, plus a deep-fried chicken cutlet. Well, except that Hal's chicken cutlet had been forcibly confiscated by Asya as "an apology for all sorts of offense taken from his inappropriate behavior"...

As a side note, Luna Francois had changed back into her usual black dress.

"But even if you say my behavior was inappropriate—" Hal spoke between spoonfuls of curry.

"If I think about it more carefully, Asya, I don't think I've caused you any trouble, have I?"

"Of course you have! Witnessing you and Luna's indecent behavior, Haruomi, causes mental shock against my pure and innocent soul, which progresses to produce emotional turmoil. If that kind of scene was shown on television or in a movie, the sponsors would have protested long ago!"

"In that case, you didn't have to come along..." said Luna quietly, unfazed by Asya's angry complaints. A smile was hanging on the corners of her lips of her refreshingly beautiful face.

"According to the original plan, only Harry and I were supposed to come, you know?"

"A-Allowing you two to go out to sea alone is the kind of atrocious act that I forbid even more!"

Luna Francois was born in Oregon of the United States of America.

As a witch, whose activities were centered around the American West Coast and Hawaii, she was also the Trans-Pacific Shootdown Ace. With such accomplishments under her belt, she had built up an intimate relationship with the TPDO.

She had never missed the biennial joint military exercise held at the Solomon Islands, not even once.

On this occasion, she had invited Hal to take part together. Naturally, the purpose was not "to go out to sea alone."

By exhibiting the power of dragonbane on this kind of stage, their plans would surely reap profits in the future—

Hal agreed with Luna's view.

"Tokyo New Town would be left to Hazumi-san, Orihime-san and Asya to protect, while Harry and I use this military exercise as a public relations event with the future in mind. The distribution of roles was clearly assigned this way..."

"Personally, I'd prefer if at least one of you, Asya or Luna, could stay in New Town."

"Don't worry. If an emergency comes up, I'll tie you onto Rushalka, Haruomi, and deliver you back to Japan with priority supersonic flight."

The Solomon Islands were roughly five thousand kilometers away from Tokyo New Town.

To carry out such a long-distance voyage at supersonic speed would be an amazing feat rivaling the now discontinued supersonic passenger jet. However, it was definitely possible using Asya's magical power and Rushalka's Queen Form.

Even so, Hal could not help but mutter, "Then I'll have to endure the g-forces of supersonic flight the whole time? With a body of flesh and blood?"

"Don't worry. Given how you are now, Haruomi, you'll definitely withstand it!"

"Although that's probably true, I have to say no thanks!"

Haruga Haruomi possessed ''resilience allowing him to remain unscathed even when trampled by a gigantic dragon''. Apart from that, he was also capable of guarding his physical body with imperishable protection, hence Asya's idea was quite feasible.

Nevertheless, as long as he still regarded himself as human, Hal would resist to the very end.

Moreover, the crew of the escort vessel was having lunch in the surroundings.

These SDF officers had generously accepted the three high school students who were dressed in casual clothing.

It was commonplace for those involved with witches to be exceptionally young. Furthermore, after the frequent commotions caused by dragons in Japan recently, Hal's group had become widely known among the police and the SDF as the frontline combatant witches and the "mysterious consultant" who had stepped up to resolve matters.

Perhaps due to this reason, they were received by the escort vessel's crew with much cordiality.

Today's lunch was no exception. Although Asya had not made any demands regarding her navy curry, they still treated her to ''a small mountain of curry and rice on a plate twice as large as normal with three times as many cutlets layered on top''.

While savoring the crew's hospitality, Asya remarked with emotion, "Although I've spent time with various national militaries all over the world, the SDF's thoughtfulness in 'providing service without the other party asking' truly takes the cake."

"Just the fact that it doesn't feel stifling here actually makes it more comfortable than classrooms at school."

Compared to the space called the school, this place was closer to the world of Hal's childhood life.

Hence, that was why he found it more comfortable. That being said, they were going to return to Japan in a few hours.

Having made a striking impression on all the nations participating in the joint military exercise, the purpose of their journey would be considered accomplished. It would be best to hurry back home so as to reassure Orihime and Hazumi who were in charge of holding the fort.

"I wonder if there are any good souvenirs to buy around the Solomon Sea?"

After muttering to himself, Hal suddenly felt a bit perplexed.

There was a something unusual about his comment that prompted him to recall a forgotten memory—

"Hmm?"

Speaking of which, the name "Solomon" had been brought up last month.

===Part 2===

King Solomon—The ancient king of Israel.

His reign was said to have taken place around 1000 BCE. As the enlightened monarch who established Israel's prosperity, his name also appeared in the Old Testament of the Bible. There is one rather famous legend about him: Solomon was not only an ordinary king but also a great mage. In addition to subjugating seventy-two demons to do his bidding, he was even able to talk to animals and plants—

As a side note, the Solomon Islands did not have much of a connection to this king of Israel.

The name naturally stuck only because people discovered signs of gold there and called it King Solomon's treasure.

Currently, it was the next day, back in Japan after returning from the Solomon Islands.

Under the scorching summer heat, Hal was walking in a Japanese residential district.

The boundless view of the Southern Seas was long gone. Currently, he was at Monzennaka area in the Kōtō ward.

"In other words, that questionable legend about King Solomon as 'a great mage with numerous demons under his command' was actually based on a real person. Later on, the exploits of this person somehow became mixed up with King Solomon's, thus giving rise to the legend of 'Solomon the great sorcerer.' Am I right?"

"Mm-hmm. Basically."

What answered Hal's whispers was Hinokagutsuchi's voice.

She had not materialized. THe former dragon king's ghost simply spoke in Hal's ear to carry out the conversation. Fortunately, there were few people nearby, but from a bystander's point of view, it would have been rather disturbing.

"Also, I remember you mentioning last month about wanting 'to have the man named "Solomon" resurrected in the modern era.' What did you mean by that?"

The trip to the Solomon Islands had prompted Hal to remember what the former dragon king had said. Ever since, he would seek out Hinokagutsuchi to talk on every occasion, trying to get information about "Solomon."

"Well, that goal can be considered half complete already."

"Complete?"

"Mm-hmm. The man facing similar circumstances as the ancient Solomon has already been born."

There was laughter mixed in Hinokagutsuchi's voice.

However, it was the tasteless laughter of someone whose irresponsible joy was founded upon another's misfortune.

"He was a Tyrannos too. Obtaining the power of dragonbane as a mere human and even gradually mastering its use—Going as far as to make dozens of 'imitation' dragons his minions."

"...In other words, my predecessor."

"Rejoice. Know that you are the human who has attained heights closest to Solomon for the past millennia. The vast majority of the Tyrannos end up dying out on the field or turning into a dragon before that."

"......"

If Hal were to continue using the power of dragonslaying, he would transform into a dragon one day—

Recalling this, Hal sighed lightly. Although this was not a problem that could be solved by agonizing over it, if possible, he did wish to avoid such a fate.

"Judging from your case, it could be said that Solomon's legacy has benefitted you substantially."

"King Solomon's legacy? I have something like that in my possession?"

"What are you talking about? The 'imitations' used by contemporary humans—The methods to bring about their birth are precisely the mystic rites compiled by Solomon, thousands of years ago, by imitating dragonkind's arcane techniques."

"...The ritual for leviathan synthesis huh!?"

At the Izu shore, they had encountered a dragon subspecies.

It was supposedly created by elite dragons using magic. So the two systems of synthesis came from the same origin.

And the one linking the two together was Solomon the great mage—

"Those who know of Solomon's exploits are few in number nowadays. Back when I was still a dragon king, many magi and priestesses idolized him."

"Well, excessive fame would make it seem shady instead."

Hal remarked with poignancy.

Ever since the time of ancient Greece, many "grimoires of King Solomon" had circulated, such as ''The Greater Key of Solomon'', ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', ''The Testament of Solomon'', ''The Key of True Solomon'', ''Armandal'', etc...

Anyone with some interest in the occult would have heard of these titles, to greater or lesser extents, even if they were not experts on the subject of magic.

However, the contents of these books were absurd for the most part and ridiculed as the likes of idle gossip.

In fact, if experts like Hal were to see advertising along the lines of "the super grimoire of the great mage King Solomon!", they would likely laugh or grimace.

"Actually, a thousand years ago, I listened to a certain female mage's lifelong wish at the Dragon Palace Court—'O great Crimson Queen, I implore you to lend your divine assistance to resurrect Solomon the progenitor' or some such."

However—Hinokagutsuchi continued.

Before she could answer yes or no, the petitioner died first. It turned out that she had been tirelessly searching for King Solomon's magical secrets, dedicating her body and soul to reviving the path of unorthodoxy, despite being afflicted with a fatal disease.

"You're still remembering this? After all this time?"

Hinokagutsuchi's calm tone of voice naturally drew Hal into this topic.

"Mm-hmm. Perhaps her endearing face and seductive waist had something to do with it—Possibly."

"You're talking like one of those despicable pervert fathers, you know!?"

"Well, during this time, I have become old, experiencing a thousand years as a spirit. By the time I realized, the dragons that were supposed to be sleeping had already danced merrily back to earth, to extol springtime to their hearts' content. As for humans, I am afraid they will gradually decline and eventually exit the stage at this rate."

"....."

"That being said, it would be far too boring without the soothing sight of voluptuous maidens. Hence, an idea came to me. Suppose an opportunity were to present itself one day, I would bestow the Rune of the Bow upon a suitable human. It would be interesting if a lifelong wish requested of me in the past were to be accomplished now, a thousand years later."

"...I see."

To think there was such dramatic significance behind the dragonslaying rune he had inherited.

Hal could not help but feel overwhelmed with emotion. The greatest reason why he had survived till now was unbelievably due to a former dragon's king's momentary lustful whim.

"By the way, I can't believe it's Solomon. It's too ridiculous as magic-related information. Even professional treasure hunters like me have never investigated it seriously..."

Rather, amateur occult enthusiasts would be the ones to swarm all over it.

For an insider like Hal, it was too lowbrow a topic. Taking it seriously would feel embarrassing, which was why no one took the first step.

"Now for a change of pace, I'll muster up some of my true skills to check it out."

"Speaking of clues regarding Solomon, perhaps there is one that might be unexpectedly close by in your surroundings."

"What do you mean by that?"

While Hal was reeling from surprise at the sudden hint, Hinokagutsuchi said, "The flint in your possession was hidden by your father, wasn't it? Nevertheless, it is extremely rare for people to understand the value of that stone, even among those pursuing the path of unorthodoxy. The rare exceptions are limited to magi related to Solomon's lineage."

In other words—Hal suddenly realized what the self-styled devil was implying.

"Y-You mean that Pops was related to King Solomon?"

"Mm-hmm. Although it was a thousand years ago, back then, there was a mage cult that had inherited Solomon's magic and knowledge. Within their ranks were a few outstanding magi who regarded Solomon with adoring devotion."

"......"

"Perhaps your father was someone like that."

"Although Pops definitely knew how to use magic, he was at most the same level as me before I received the rune."

Indeed. Hal's father, Haruga Takafumi, was not a practitioner despite being a researcher of magic.

Apart from that, he was also a treasure hunter well-versed in history, archaeology, comparative cultural studies and mythology.

Well, despite all these shady titles, he was probably not a "mage who venerated King Solomon as his spiritual mentor," otherwise Hal would have known something about it no matter what as his son.

"......"

Hal thought deeply for a moment before taking out his cellphone.

While walking, he slid his thumb across the screen to type out a message. After selecting a few recipients, he sent out the email—He had nothing to lose even in the event of failure, after all. This bit of spent effort did not count as a waste of time even if it proved fruitless.

While thinking over these matters, Hal also reached his destination.

A place he had visited three months ago. He was standing in front of a samurai residence he had come to pay a visit with Asya before—The entrance of the Juujouji home.

Hal pressed the doorbell and waited for a while.

After a brief wait at the samurai residence's entrance, his friends, two young maidens, came out to greet him.

"Welcome back, Senpai!"

"Although you probably know this already, Japan has been very peaceful while you were gone."

Walking over to him with a radiant smile was Shirasaka Hazumi. The other girl—Juuojouji Orihime—was also smiling cheerfully as usual.

This combination consisted of the two most heartwarming witches Hal knew.

"You came too, Shirasaka."

"Yes. Because I heard you were coming to Nee-sama's house... I ran over."

Hazumi replied with a bright smile, slightly mischievously.

Hal nodded. This was a very welcome surprise. After all, Shirasaka Hazumi was the one and only "adorable junior of Haruga Haruomi."

"Great, I happened to have brought souvenirs for you too, Shirasaka."

"Really!? Thank you, Senpai!"

"In other words, Haruga-kun, about the task mentioned earlier—"

"Yeah, it's done. I definitely bought stuff at local shops."

Facing Orihime who was looking at him mischievously, Hal replied.

This was something he had promised her before setting off to the Solomon Islands.

'Time permitting, I hope you could bring back some local specialties, since Hazumi especially likes receiving souvenirs from abroad and things of that sort.'

As a witch, Shirasaka Hazumi had been shouldering the responsibility of protecting Tokyo New Town ever since childhood.

Due to a chronic lack of people capable of taking her place, she had to live a life of restricted travel. Naturally, she had no experience traveling abroad either.

After hearing about that, Hal decided he had to bring back souvenirs no matter what hurdles he must overcome.

Right before making the journey back to Japan, the military had transported Hal and company via helicopter to the Port Moresby airport on the island of New Guinea. Using the three hour layover before their civilian flight was going to takeoff, Hal had gone shopping at a local open-air market.

There, he had bought strange masks carved from wood, bags woven from wooden fibers, etc.

Orihime winked cheerfully in response.

"Wonderful. Given that it's you, Haruga-kun, I was originally worried whether you would forgot to buy gifts and end up with no choice but to pick up cookies at Haneda or Narita airport to complete the task."

"D-Don't look down on me. This sort of favor is just a piece of cake," Hal replied with a slightly guilty conscience.

In fact, he remembered past instances when he had done exactly what Orihime had speculated. Rather, it would be better say that the action of "buying gifts" itself was something that he frequently forgot completely during his travels.

Simply poor at social skills and being used to his life of flying all over the world without a fixed residence were presumably the reasons for this.

It was probably with this personality of Hal's in mind that Orihime had tactfully reminded him before the he departed. Her thoughtfulness was meticulous as always.

Even so—Hal suddenly found it incredible.

It was something that happened the day before his expedition when he had met up with Orihime alone and the topic of souvenirs came up.

Hal had told her: Due to work reasons, I have to stay at the Solomon Islands for five days with Luna starting tomorrow. Back then, Orihime had froze for a moment in surprise before—

'J-Just you and Luna-san, the two of you, alone...?'

She had asked timidly in a feeble voice.

Her seemingly fearful appearance did not resemble her usual self, which was cheerful and outgoing. Until he answered that Asya was going too, only then did she finally seem reassured...

Despite having acted that way, Orihime had greeted Hal with cheerfulness rivaling the summer sun just now.

"By the way, I did as you asked earlier and informed my grandfather of your arrival. However, his reaction was somewhat strange."

"Strange?"

"Ah yes. When Nee-sama passed on the message that you had something important to discuss with him, Senpai, Grandfather Juujouji immediately entered a bad mood."

Orihime and Hazumi had reported an important finding. Hal could not help but tilted his head after listening.

Could he have done something wrong and angered him? Yet today's main purpose was to have a meeting with Juujouji's grandfather. In any case, he had no way of figuring out anything without meeting in person.

Hal then asked the two girls to lead him into the house.

Prior to Orihime becoming a witch, Hal had visited this Japanese-style room as a member of SAURU staff.

The master of the Juujouji household was waiting inside. Last time, he had worn a solemn and dignified kimono and this occasion was no exception. The only difference was the fabric, which had changed to linen for greater breathability in summer.

Hal, Orihime and Hazumi sat formally in seiza opposite him across the table.

Orihime's grandfather spoke with severe displeasure right from the start.

"Let me make myself clear first. I shall not hand my granddaughter over to you."

"What?"

"......"

"......"

Cough cough. Hal cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, is there some kind of misunderstanding here?"

"You said you had 'an important matter' to discuss today, didn't you? To announce this before hand then pay a visit to my home alone... In that case, there can be only one possibility."

This was his reason for getting angry?

Hal subconsciously looked at Orihime, who responded with her eyes.

(My apologies, my grandfather keeps saying strange things...)

(He's an old man who's overprotective of his granddaughter as always. Sigh, anyway, I guess I'll just have to try to start the conversation.)

(Yes, let's do that. I will assist you as much as possible.)

Simply by observing each other's eyes and facial expression, it felt as though they could communicate telepathically.

Was this a reward earned through surviving many life and death situations together, or had some kind of bond formed between him and Orihime? Even without words, it felt like they could convey their thoughts to each other.

Discovering this fact, Hal smiled wryly while Orihime beamed.

"Please listen to me, Grandfather. You've made a mistake. Haruga-kun is simply here to talk business."

"Y-You are telling me that now, after exchanging flirtatious gazes with him in front of me!?"

"No, Juujouji is telling the truth. Actually, I will be quitting SAURU officially in the future to start a new company in partnership with my friends."

Hal put away his business smile and spoke sincerely.

"I will be offering a proposal to the various businesses and authorities that have been longtime sponsors of the Tokyo New Town witches—Juujouji Orihime and Shirasaka Hazumi. In the future, they could choose to hire us to carry out part of the witch support business currently undertaken through SAURU... Or rather, all of it."

Orihime's grandfather was not simply "an old man who was overprotective of his granddaughter."

Having held important posts at many publicly traded corporations in the past, he still kept his status as a part-time consultant. Not only was he a local celebrity but also a member of the committee sponsoring Orihime and Hazumi.

As expected, he immediately sat up straight after hearing Hal's proposal.

"Why this sudden decision?"

"Have you glanced over the report that Asya and I wrote? It's the result of our discussion about how to make better and more meaningful use of the currently discovered dragonslaying magic that still falls under personal property. If it's a good time for you, I actually plan on explaining it to you."

"......"

Orihime's grandfather thought deeply for a while then spoke slowly, "Tell me in detail. The various disturbances happening around New Town recently have already become a problem for us."

===Part 3===

It was afternoon on August 1, considered the official start of the summer vacation.

Mixed among the students who were attending club activities diligently in the middle of holidays, Hal made his way to Kogetsu Academy.

He was visiting the Witch Mansion's temporary underground location beneath the library. As soon as he entered the spacious room that was being used as a conference room, he noticed that all of his companions had already assembled.

"Now that Haruga-kun has arrived, I think it's time we got started, right? Everyone, let's begin the fourth meeting regarding the GUILD project's operation."

The female student serving as the facilitator, Mutou-san, announced in a relaxed tone of voice.

Applause—The girl with the twintails, Funaki-san, clapped her hands in response. Sitting next to her, Orihime and Hazumi also applauded. As for the professionals, Hal, Asya and Luna Francois, they went through the motions of clapping at least.

Although the members of the group were not in sync at all, it should be fine.

After all, the purpose of their gathering was not to go for karaoke after school.

"Anyway, let me start."

While saying that, Mutou-san opened up her personal laptop.

"This is the project plan I sent to all of you through email this morning. It's pretty much 'preparations for the imminent day of information disclosure.' Has anyone read it yet?"

"I've glanced through it."

It was Asya who raised her hand.

"I think the plan itself is quite good. And making effective use of the social connections cultivated through the UFO Research Club's activities is also an interesting idea. However, I was hoping for something packing more of a punch..."

"A punch?"

"Actually, I agree with Asya. I believe that we need more eye-catching content, or an idol character to focus everyone's attention."

While Mutou-san was taken aback, Luna Francois shared her opinion.

"Think about it. Not long after the return of dragon, all humans of the world were shocked by the televised video of 'the speech delivered by Hannibal, the representative of dragonkind,' weren't they?"

"Oh, that's the dragon that descended on the Rockefeller Center, right!?"

"Thanks to that, information about dragonkind was spread rapidly throughout the world."

"I see—Now that you mention it, that video's view count has accumulated to unbelievable levels now..."

Mutou-san crossed her arms and began to contemplate.

Next to speak after her was Hal. He asked Funaki-san, "About Pavel Galad—the dragon that transformed into a handsome guy—that you witnessed at Kanegafuchi last month, did you ever see him again?"

"Nope, never again. However, it seems like he's made several appearances in that area since then."

"Really!? How do you know?"

Hal leaned forward due to this unexpected news. Funaki-san laughed "fufu."

"I tried asking around near Kanegafuchi Station. After all, he's a conspicuous silver-haired foreigner. I went around and inquired 'Have you seen a hottie like him~?' and ended up with quite a lot of eyewitness accounts, mostly provided by women. I'll show you the results of the investigation in my notebook later."

"That's amazing. You're such a great help."

Funaki-san was a lively girl who loved gossip and juicy news.

Evidently, she possessed initiative and investigative ability beyond Hal's expectations. Although his original intention was merely to hire her to handle administrative matters, Hal had unintentionally secured a talented individual.

"Why not have her go with the UFO Research Club's Sakuraba-senpai to search for Galad together? I think if we just obtain some slightly more precise intel, we can leave the rest to the police..." Hal muttered.

Gathering information about dragonkind, to disclose to the general public—

This was the UFO Research Club's primary activity. And the member who stood as the club's information gathering expert was someone known as Sakuraba-senpai. He was apparently carrying out his "activities" diligently outside of school every day, which was why it was hard to find him on campus. Even Hal had never met him before.

However, Hal was finally able to obtain his contact details through Mutou-san and President M.

Someone capable of obtaining undisclosed images of leviathans through specific channels would definitely be quite reliable if he could recruit such a person to their cause.

Hal expected an audio recording of this meeting to be passed along to Sakuraba-senpai afterwards.

"By the way, about the audio records of this meeting—"

"I am in charge of that, Senpai!"

Hal allowed his sudden thought to slip out of his mouth and Hazumi immediately responded with a smile.

She had her notebook open and was writing down all kinds of things in an organized manner. A portable audio recorder was next to her hand. As Hal's assistant, she had everything meticulously prepared.

"Oh right, I have a message to pass to you, Haruga-kun."

This time, it was Orihime's turn to speak.

"A message from President M: 'Going all the way down to the basement is too much work. Just send the minutes over!' That's what she said. 'I will watch over you no matter what needs to be done, so go ahead and do it with no regrets!' She also said that."

"...Feels like a guardian angel and protective spirit combined, how reliable... I guess?"

He had tried approaching President M without expecting much, but the president ended up promising support.

Even without being present, her(?) suspicious repertoire of skills, open-mindedness and competence were still quite reliable. Hal's team lineup was gradually filling out.

At that moment, the conference room's door opened with a click.

"—Hello everyone, I've brought refreshments for you."

A rare visitor entered, carrying a convenience store bag.

It was a beautiful woman whose glasses matched her intellectual appearance very well. Having been promoted to the post of SAURU's Kantou branch chief, Hiiragi Yukari had gone out of her way to make a visit from the Yokohama branch between tasks.

Hiiragi-san put down the convenience store bag on the table where Hal's group was gathered around.

Inside was a two liter bottle of oolong tea, paper cups, several cans of coffee, snacks, etc. Then on the table, she placed a paper bag she had been carrying in her other hand.

This bag contained roasted rice crackers and had the words "roasted by hand on a coal flame" written on it.

"This is from Kenjou. I made a detour to the Mirokudou New Town branch just now and he specifically asked me to bring these along as an apology since he could not attend this meeting. He also asked me to send his regards to all of you."

Indeed, their lineup was gradually filling up.

When Hal shared his ideas with acquaintances inside SAURU, many of them ended up voicing their support. Furthermore, Hiiragi-san and Kenjou-san had promised to maintain confidentially until the time was ripe. After swearing an oath using the magic of Contract in God's Presence, they agreed to join as well.

Hal and company's plan was advancing surely and steadily.

That being said, the end goal was still very distant and there was no guarantee at all that he could follow it all the way to completion. Besides, there was still a rather challenging problem at hand.

The white dragon king—Princess Yukikaze. She was definitely not going to remain aboveboard indefinitely as now—

"...Looks like there's no need to collect more weapons for the time being. I have to catch up on other aspects first..."

Instead of speaking out loudly, Hal was muttering to himself.

Last time, he had obtained the Rune of the Twin Katana in the Izu waters. Having retrieved the ''aforementioned rune'' in secret, his dragonslaying runes were probably of sufficient quantity.

What he needed to accomplish now was a new mission whose importance was only secondary to the search for weapons.

After the meeting ended, Asya made her way to the Literature Club's room.

Her purpose was to meet President M. She was going unaccompanied. The other members had already departed.

The group had decided to get together for dinner. With Orihime and Hazumi present too, there was no need to worry about Luna taking Hal away...

"President, I've brought the minutes and the audio record of the meeting."

"Put it over there first. It's been a while. How have things been lately?"

The setting sun's rays were streaming in through the window, turning the Literature Club's room into a shade of orange.

President M was standing by the window. Her massive body, 140kg by visual estimates, was clad in what resembled a crimson maternity dress.

"A few days ago, you said on the phone that the girl called Luna has started charging around in a reckless manner recently, right?"

"Exactly! I really don't get how the gears of destiny turn. Luna suddenly said she l-l-l-likes Haruomi. It's terrible!"

Seizing the opportunity, Asya began to gripe all at once.

"Dragging Haruomi out on any pretext, she's thoroughly pursuing the tactic of spending time alone together!"

"Endlessly spamming the special attack that you want but isn't available to you, I see."

"Gyah!?"

"I originally thought that the romantic comedy situation surrounding Haruga would be stuck in a stalemate with Princess Orihime in the lead, but never did I expect a black ship to arrive. At this rate, that Haruga's going to be snatched away."

"W-What makes you say that!?"

"A power play from seductive flesh imported directly from America, plus the fact that he's a lecher."

"Ehhhhhhhhh!?"

"The only hope is for the hitherto laid back princess to awaken because an unexpected rival had shown up. As for the little angel, she is at a bodily disadvantage no matter what."

"P-President, what if I could rise to the forefront now as the childhood friend—"

"Isn't that impossible? Completely hopeless. Look, here's the principle. No matter what you multiply zero by, the result is always zero. This is the law of multiplication."

"No way! Then what's the point of all the special training I've been doing till now!?"

"But you have truly made no progress... I am astounded by your incompetence."

"Oooooooh!"

President M's accusation was quite harsh. Asya had some self-awareness too.

"However, your tireless perseverance is one of your strong points. Even now, you are carrying out some type of plan to oppose that American girl, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes. Actually, it's to prevent Luna from monopolizing an unchallenged position."

Only now did Asya puff out her chest in pride.

"Luna has been using a hotel suite as her residence all this time, so I barged in to make my home there! This way, I can stop Luna from doing sneaky things at night!"

"You fool. If you're going to stay at someone's place, why not move into the Haruga home directly?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't that a staple in juvenile novels aimed at inexperienced teenage boys? A cute girl invades the male character's home, thus imposing cohabitation by force. You could do the same thing and be done with it."

"......"

Listening, Asya felt that things were precisely how President M described them.

However, Asya still argued back as a maiden with a bottom line that must not be crossed no matter what.

"Th-That approach—feels repulsive after all. Invading a boy's home to live there tyrannically, that kind of thing..."

Saying that, Asya began to feel embarrassed, meanwhile feeling her cheeks turn red.

"I still think this is something that's only allowed after engagement or marriage!"

"I can't believe you're speaking like a pure and innocent main heroine when you're clearly in no position that could afford the luxury of making such statements..."

"B-But I am undoubtedly the pure and innocent main heroine, you know!?"

"Wrong. Wrong. Currently, you are undoubtedly a clownish variety idol."

"I-I can't believe you're using the twentieth-century term 'variety idol' to describe a maiden in the flower of youth!?"

"In your case, you might be better off with a case of amnesia."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. The situation started to shift dramatically in ''Madan no Ou'' ever since T●gre lost his memory and went missing. Despite being in a completely reset state, T●gre was able to cultivate a relationship with Elizaveta at his usual pace, even conquering ×× on the side (note: Volume 9 events)."

"I-I somehow get the feeling you're alluding to a different dimension!?"

"Anyway, that's that. The situation will only grow worse if you lack the resolve necessary to turn the current situation completely upside down. Without the slightest doubt, I dare assert that."

"......"

Completely reset—Just as Asya was feeling shocked by these words...

The cellphone in her pocket suddenly sounded with a message alert. Feeling completely exhausted by the continually shocking conversation, she took out her phone almost unconsciously.

Asya checked the email and reacted with surprise.

"Mom is coming to Tokyo?"

===Part 4===

"It's been a while, Haruomi-san. I'm glad to see Asya in such good health too."

These were Auntie Yulia's first words upon meeting Hal again after many years.

Prior to the reunion, all she had sent was a brief message stating "Heading to Tokyo tomorrow, scheduled to arrive at 11:17 at Haneda."

This message had been received on Hal and Asya's cellphones merely eighteen hours prior. As a side note, almost all of what used to be the heart of former Tokyo had been taken as territory for the Old Tokyo Concession, although the airport-less Ōta ward was excluded.

Currently, Hal and his childhood friend were sitting in a cafe inside Haneda airport.

Seated across the table and the three cups of coffee was a silver-haired woman.

Her name was Yulia Rubashvili.

In other words, Asya's mother. On top of her t-shirt, she was wearing a khaki short sleeve military shirt. On the bottom, she had a pair of black jeans. Draped over her shoulders, the light shawl accentuated her womanly charm.

"Please don't suddenly announce you're visiting the next day just like that. It's not like we're free every day either."

"Sorry, Asya. It's because the idea of making a visit only occurred to me suddenly yesterday morning."

Yulia replied calmly to her grumbling daughter.

Her voice and tone were so calm that some people might actually believe it if one were to describe her as a combat android from the future. Then there was her exquisite face. Sitting opposite this "auntie" who was present with her daughter, Hal kept thinking to himself what a beauty she was.

Not only were Asya and Auntie Yulia daughter and mother, but they also bore a strong resemblance.

Their faces could even be described as identical. Both of them possessed beautiful faces reminiscent of fairies, dreamy and delicate, combined with petite and slender figures, as well as gorgeous silver hair rich with vibes of fantasy—

However, there was a decisive difference between the two of them.

This was the fact that Auntie Yulia was a genuine cool beauty through and through.

Precisely at that moment, a middle-aged waiter brought their orders.

Pancakes, a hamburger, a club sandwich, a mille crepe, and a hot dog. Incidentally, only the hot dog at the end was what Hal had ordered to serve as a late breakfast. The rest were all Asya's orders.
[[image:Leviathan 05 046.jpg|thumb]]

After lowering her gaze to glance over this food, Auntie Yulia immediately said, "Asya, your appetite is hearty as ever."

"Don't worry. After all, a witch's job is very calorie intensive."

"Indeed, what you say is correct. Then keep eating at this rate, since all of it is for the sake of surviving the present, in order to pluck the fruit of victory in the future."

Auntie Yulia was a researcher at SAURU's headquarters in Istanbul.

Hal had heard that she used to belong to the air force of Europe's defense organization before giving birth to Asya, reaching the rank of major prior to her retirement.

As a result, she would sometimes speak with inexplicable strictness.

Encouraged by such a mother, Asya's eyes instantly lit up.

"As expected of you, Mom, you understand me best!"

"As for the price to be paid, perhaps you will have to bear the risk of ending up with your grandmother's obese figure. Well, this is theoretically unavoidable. I also believe that there is no need to sacrifice combat potential for the sake of dieting. Oh, but Asya, you must take precautions against diabetes—"

"D-Don't list out these potential risks if you're going to encourage me to eat more!"

Hal observed the mother and daughter's conversation while eating his hot dog.

He had set off from his home at Narihira Bridge without eating breakfast this morning, hence this was his first meal of the day. Come to think of it, Auntie Yulia's age was still impossible to guess from appearance.

With her fifteen-year-old daughter by her side, they looked like sisters.

To be honest, she was a woman who surpassed Asya in terms of the "Fairy Index."

"By the way, Auntie Yulia, you were on a business trip in Indonesia until yesterday, right? Is that why you took the chance to visit Tokyo New Town while you were at it?"

"Indeed. You are very up-to-date, Haruomi-san."

"Even as her daughter, I haven't heard about this."

"It's nothing really, because it was written in the fan club's newsletter. Auntie Yulia had already arrived at the Jakarta branch last week."

"E-Even you, Haruomi, have joined that suspicious club!?"

"How troubling. To think that I'm being treated as a celebrity when I am nothing more than an ordinary SAURU researcher. Frankly speaking, this is quite problematic for me."

"After all, Auntie Yulia, you're not only pretty but also a wonderful person too."

Seventy-eight SAURU members across the world had joined the "Club of Unlimited Support for the Exquisitely Beautiful Ms. Yulia." In fact, Hal had already joined as a member five years ago.

Hal put on a serious expression then said, "There are quite a lot of people who want Auntie to step on them or give them cold stares."

"How very troubling..."

"Gah. I-In that case, why don't they praise the daughter who is younger and more tender, or treat me like an idol? The men of SAURU are seriously blind!"

"Well then, I think it's time for me to get going."

There should be plenty of catching up between mother and daughter. Hal tried to show his considerate side, but Auntie Yulia shook her head and suddenly said, "Haruomi-san, this visit of mine to Tokyo actually includes business with you."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you send me an email a while ago? 'I hope you could provide details if you happen to know about the King Solomon case my father handled in the past.'"

" "——!" "

Hal and Asya gasped in unison.

After all, their families had been acquainted for generations. Asya's grandmother and her deceased father both knew Hal and his father.

To think that a source of information would immediately fly to him from nearby like the proverbial blue bird of fortune—

Auntie Yulia began to explain patiently...

"The problem with Asya is that even if you try to knock her out with a sedative, she'd detect it through taste and scent. She's almost like a wild beast."

The location was the luxury hotel where Luna Francois made her residence.

Hal was seated facing her in a lounge at this hotel. Hal had ordered a coffee while Luna had grapefruit juice. The two of them had picked table seating. It was after 7pm and if Hal and Luna were adults, they would probably be sitting side by side next to the window, drinking alcoholic beverages at this hour.

Unfortunately, both of them were still minors.

"There has been more than one occasion when I wanted to mix sleep medication into Asya's food so that I could invite you out for an evening spin while she was sleeping. However, I always dismissed the notion due to the high probability of futility. Whatever, there is no shortage of measures as long as I get serious, after all."

"Hahahaha..."

Hal laughed dryly. If chances of success were fifty-fifty, Luna Francois would definitely drug Asya without any hesitation.

"However, you are at fault too, Harry."

"Me?"

"Yes. I've clearly confessed my feelings to you, haven't I? Besides, we can immediately become a couple as soon as you consent. With that, a mere childhood friend like Asya will have neither right nor reason to interfere."

"......"

"It's all because you're imitating the romantic comedy staple of withholding your answer indecisively. That's why Asya could seize the opportunity to start interfering."

"Speaking of which, she's been staying at your place for now, right?"

"Although I could refuse and ask her to leave, the most that would accomplish is drive her over to the suite adjacent to mine. Since it's too much trouble, I tolerated her."

Just like Luna Francois, Asya was also a master-class witch.

Due to the financial compensation for their battle accomplishments so far, they had accumulated massive funds (Luna's level could even be called "an estate"). Even willfully splurging on expensive suites at luxury hotels would not cause much of a burden.

Hal could not help but tilt his head.

"Why is that girl Asya so intent on hindering you, Luna? Even when I asked her, all I got for an answer was that she had to keep the reason a secret from me."

"Ah wonduh whahy? How baffling, ah dudn geddit either."

"Hmm? Were you speaking a bit strangely just now?"

"Nope. You imagined it, Harry♪"

After chuckling with an impish smile, Luna Francois leaned forward.

"So, what did you figure out after talking to Asya's mother? You met up this morning, didn't you?"

"Nothing much, I tried asking about the whole story of how Pops got his hands on the flint... Turns out it wasn't a spectacular adventure story like Indiana Jones at all."

Shrugging, Hal began to recount.

—It happened to have taken place during the year 2000 CE exactly.

That was when dragonkind had recently returned to earth. Hal's father and Auntie Yulia were working at SAURU's New York branch. One day, the branch staff discovered a set of ancient artifacts named the "the posthumous writings of the great mage, King Solomon, and the cursed stone."

The one who deciphered Solomon's posthumous writings would be able to inherit the king's fortune.

The stone was a key leading to great power. Dragons would tear the holder apart. Hence, confidentiality was paramount.

...It sounded like a very fake advertisement.

No magical power could be detected from either the document regarded as Solomon's posthumous writings or the accompanying stone. Even so, Hal's father and Auntie Yulia still went through with the appraisal process just in case.

On that day, New York proceeded to be assaulted by numerous dragons.

"The Great Attack in the Year 2000... refers to that?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Leading his Army of Fire composed of a thousand Raptors, Hannibal arrived at New York by air, delivering a devastating blow to the US military in that attack."

Hal nodded in confirmation to Luna Francois' question.

"Incinerated by the flames of war, Manhattan Island was directly annexed by Hannibal to become his territory, thus giving rise to the Old Manhattan Concession."

"The so-called 'Great Attack' was quite a dramatic situation in and of itself."

"Yeah. After that, Pops and Auntie Yulia fled in desperation with only their personal belongings to evacuate from the streets that were under attack from Raptors. Back then, Pops happened to take that Solomon's stone by chance, which is also the flint I came across twenty years later."

Indeed. This was the secret stone hidden inside the Clockwork Mage.

"During their escape, Pops and Auntie Yulia were pursued relentlessly by a Raptor, unable to shake it off despite using stealth magic many times. Only after making their getaway successfully at last did they begin to suspect—Perhaps this was due to that 'dragons would tear the holder apart' curse."

As the story went, the stone was handed over to Hal's father in the end, who promised to contact Auntie Yulia immediately if he discovered anything.

"However, many years passed after that but Pops never initiated contact about the matter. Auntie Yulia completely forgot about it too."

Hal had previously tried to gather information about the flint—He wrote emails to those acquainted with his father.

But in the end, no one responded, not even Auntie Yulia. Simply mentioning "his father had hidden a stone belonging to the dragons" as a clue was not enough to jog Auntie Yulia's memory.

However, thanks to the "Solomon" keyword this time, his investigation did not run into the same problem...

"What follows is just my speculation. I think Pops probably kept that stone by his side to observe—And ended up with no results, which is why he didn't leave behind any information about the flint."

"Then why did he hide the stone in his pocket watch?"

"Because Pops has a finicky tendency just like me. He tried to obey the legend and hide the stone, so on a playful whim, he chose to hide it in his pocket watch, then he probably forgot all about it."

Hal brought up his unfounded speculation.

But considering his father's personality, his hunch was very likely to be correct.

"If he was seriously trying to hide it, he would've picked a safer and more secure hiding place. If he seriously considered it worthy of research, he would've left complete records behind at least."

"Speaking of which, Harry, there's one detail that I find concerning."

Luna Francois interjected at that moment.

"According to the current theory, the other artifact left behind at the SAURU branch in Old Manhattan... is very likely to be King Solomon's posthumous writings, is that right?"

"Yeah, I'd bet on it."

In fact, he had been reviewing satellite images with Asya this afternoon.

This was the latest photographic data of the Old Manhattan Concession taken by spy satellite. Standing tall silently in the Upper East Side area, it had escaped destruction from dragonkind's fires...

Luna's eyes instantly lit up after hearing about it.

"Then we must set off on an expedition to Old Manhattan. Obtaining King Solomon's fortune, which stood equal to the flint, should bring benefits without drawbacks."

"Yeah, you're right."

"For the past few months, our combat potential has increased dramatically... But still, it is not enough to take dragon king-class opponents head on. It is necessary to keep gaining experience to strengthen our combat power."

"Perhaps you're right."

Hal agreed with Luna from the bottom of his heart.

Truth be told, he had no confidence in securing a draw if he were to face Princess Yukikaze in a rematch. He barely survived the June battle only thanks to deploying the Crimson Queen as a surprise factor.

"Since weapon quantity has progressed swimmingly, it's time to trigger events like spectacular attack spells or ultimate summoned contracted beasts, etc."

"Yes, in order to pursue such possibilities, King Solomon's fortune is ultimately—"

"I'd really like to get my hands on it before the others. But the fact that the treasure is located at the Old Manhattan Concession would be a risk factor."

Hal muttered and Luna Francois responded with a smile.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Harry. Commit your determination and let us head out on an expedition to America? How about stopping by the West Coast along the way and make an appearance at my house?"

"Oh... Actually, about that..."

Hal found himself at a loss for words momentarily, unable to bring up his core purpose in visiting Luna tonight.

"I hope you could stay in Tokyo New Town, Luna."

"Eh!? What do you mean by that, Harry!?"

"Old Manhattan is considered the most dangerous zone even among concession territories. Old Tokyo can't compare to it at all. If we're going to infiltrate it, Asya and I should be the ones to do, just the two of us. In addition, there's no telling how long we have to be away from Tokyo... It wouldn't be good idea if both you and Asya were out of the country."

Through the Izu expedition earlier, Hal understood that Luna Francois was not the physical type.

In a situation where demands on stealth movement, survival skills, mobility and magic must all be met, the Asya-Hal combination would be the ideal choice. Conversely, if ''one of the two'' had to stay behind to defend Tokyo, Luna was also more suitable than the Georgian girl.

Not only did she wield a witch's power but also influence as a SAURU cadre.

Apart from that, she was a strong negotiator stemming from her ability to make judgment calls accounting for the big picture. Perhaps realizing it herself, Luna murmured glumly, "Well, since one of us must remain behind, I am confident that I could do a better job than Asya... However, Harry, this is a rare chance to go traveling!"

"A-Although it's traveling, it's also a business trip at the same time."

"Hmph. In any case, you're asking me to hold the fort with Orihime-san and Hazumi-san, aren't you?"

"As for that... Since it's a rare chance to visit the East Coast, I plan on bringing Juujouji and Shirasaka along. Making a trip to ''Salem'' should be a good experience for them."

"...!?"

A vortex of anger suddenly swirled in Luna's blue eyes—but it lasted only an instant before returning to the shine of rationality. Looking at Hal with a challenging gaze, she said in a sulk, "Then in that case, Harry, I will obey you if you give me a present right now."

"Huh, a present?"

"Yes, an advance reward for me, who will be holding the fort alone."

"Even if you tell me that suddenly... I don't know what to give you."

"It's very simple—If I do this, you ought to understand, right?"

Currently, the two of them were conversing with a low table between them.

Luna Francois suddenly drew her face up close to Hal's face. Then she closed her eyes, presenting her adorable and beautiful face in a seductive and vulnerable display!

"!?"

"Hurry up, Harry. Give me my reward kiss."

"R-Right here!?"

"Yes. Haven't the two of us done something similar not too long ago? Don't worry."

"B-But there are people around. And besides, we're not dating."

"It is a reward precisely because there are people watching. Besides, this has nothing to do with dating or not. I have already gone as far as to grant you permission."

Hal still faltered. Although guests at a hotel lounge at 7pm were not numerous, they were not absent either. In addition, there were three or four members staff on standby...

However, a voice surfaced in his heart.

—Unless Luna is satisfied, she won't agree to staying behind on defense duty. She might even take a flight to the East Coast in pursuit...
[[image:Leviathan 05 058.jpg|thumb]]

Armed with this theoretical backing, Hal was coerced into complying.

Timidly, he approached Luna's beautiful face and planted a kiss gently on her lips.

At that very moment, it became Luna Francois' turn to attack. She sucked and pecked Hal's lips lightly, savoring him tenderly.

Covering Hal's lips with her own, Luna sucked with audible smooching.

Finally, she even inserted her tongue to entangle Hal's, thoroughly enjoying the taste of a passionate kiss.

During this time, Hal could neither resist nor think, simply frozen on the spot.

This kiss persisted for roughly two or three minutes. Luna Francois slowly relaxed her lips and looked at Hal's face with rapture and desire.

"It is a request from my beloved Harry after all. I shall be an obedient girl this time."

"Th—Thanks."

"However, don't forget to reward me next time you need a favor, okay? Otherwise, I might shoot you in the back, Harry. With a large-caliber rifle meant for hunting elephants!"

Ten minutes after parting ways from Luna Francois at the lounge...

The pounding in Hal's heart still had not subsided while he walked to the hotel lobby with unsteady footsteps. This was already his second time sharing a kiss with Luna Francois. Every time was such an intense shock—

Just as he was walking in a daze, someone suddenly spoke to him.

"Haruomi, how did it go on handling Luna's side of things?"

"Huh!?"

He jumped in fright, only to see that the speaker was Asya.

"You just went to see her to ask her to stay back, right? What's the result?"

"I-It went very well, yes! After I told her the reason, she definitely understood!"

"Really? Looks like it was right to have you tell her directly, Haruomi."

Had Asya been present, negotiations might have broken down.

Hal had gone to meet Luna alone precisely because he was worried about that.

However, the scheming American girl could also kidnap Hal and take him out to the streets at night. Asya was probably waiting in the lobby for him to prevent that possibility.

After hearing about the outcome, Asya nodded with apparent satisfaction.

"Although I felt uneasy letting you go alone, Haruomi, dear me, with so many eyes in the hotel after all, even someone as audacious as Luna would have no choice but to behave!"

"Roight. Yeah, no problemo, totally no problemo!"

"? Haruomi, why are suddenly speaking in a funny way?"

"N-No, I didn't. Let's go home sooner to make preparations before the trip."

They had informed Orihime and Hazumi beforehand and he two girls had agreed to go to America together.

Although there was the uncertain factor of Princess Yukikaze using Old Tokyo as her base, the prey that might be found in Old Manhattan was too attractive.

After the Solomon Islands, another departure from Japan to overseas—

Hal and Asya exchanged nods and walked to the hotel's entrance together.

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-22T02:14:31Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining an exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have been feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's eat something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22 am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45 am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

<noinclude>

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|-
| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-22T02:12:17Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Chapter 3 - New York, New York */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have been feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's eat something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22 am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45 am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-19T01:23:24Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2 pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have be feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's ate something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22 am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45 am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

<noinclude>

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-19T01:20:37Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2 pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have be feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's ate something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-19T01:19:55Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have be feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's ate something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

<noinclude>

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|-
| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-19T01:15:21Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Chapter 3 - New York, New York */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks, and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have be feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's ate something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

<noinclude>

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 3

2016-04-18T02:32:22Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 3 - New York, New York==

===Part 1===

Dragons had flown in from the moon's surface and satellite orbits to ravage the world.

Air defense systems capable of swiftly detecting them were basically humanity's life line and more important than witches and leviathans, in fact. Consequently, the sky was filled with spy satellites, radar networks and reconnaissance jets from various countries at every altitude.

Detected aerial threats were shared globally through an information network. An attack warning would be immediately issued locally while forces were dispatched to intercept.

"It's such a great help that Raptors fly so slowly. They apparently need time to get used to the Earth's atmosphere," explained Christine Hulk to her protege in front of her.

Cheerful in tone. Native to New York State, she was eighteen years old this year. A witch. Although she talked like a boy, she was undoubtedly a girl.

Her long blonde hair was tied in a refreshing ponytail.

The captain of the cheerleading team in a high school, she also had an excellent figure.

As a side note, her protege was sitting in the pilot seat of a flight simulator while Christine stood behind her.

"They fly sluggishly like migratory birds for about an hour or two, then their attack impulse erupts all at once and they make a move on the nearest city."

"...Only cities?"

The junior witch—Marie Thesz—raised a question.

Eleven years old, hailing from Wisconsin, she was still studying in elementary school. Marie was a novice witch who had just formed a covenant with her partner a month earlier.

Compared to the talkative Christine, she said few words without much facial expression.

"Although it's not exclusive to cities, the tendency to target areas with high population and building density is quite high."

"Hmm—"

"While the Raptors are flying in leisure, they can be taken care of in the majority of cases as long as nearby military airbases can dispatch emergency squadrons to intercept them. Although this base is only equipped with older F-16s, they're more than enough to shoot down Raptors."

"...So this is an old model after all."

In the modern era where LCD touch panels were ubiquitous, the old-style control panel in front of her was composed of thirty-something instruments with "numbers, needles and dials."

This flight simulator reproduced the cockpit of the F-16, an older manned fighter jet.

"Don't worry. Even though it's an old model, it's still in service all over the world. In terms of production, the manufacturing cost of an old model that's like an antique is far cheaper than for new models."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Instead of making the latest models which cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to fly a single sortie, it's better to mass produce low-cost older models. In recent years, the military has apparently valued cost-effectiveness more because of the great number of sorties."

The Air National Guard's base at East Farm was where Christine and Marie were right now.

It was located roughly fifteen kilometers southwest of the New York state capital of Albany.

The National Guard was America's military reserve force. Its members normally lived as ordinary civilians. During emergencies, they joined in disaster relief and security operations under the direction of state governors and might even carry out combat missions.

The two girls were currently at a training center inside the base.

"Although dragons can breathe fire, their attack range is practically zero in comparison to air-to-air missiles. It's as simple as hitting targets at a shooting range as long as you aim and fire from ten-odd kilometers away."

It was midnight, an hour quite incongruent with Marie's lifestyle as an elementary schooler.

However, this was official training for a new recruit. Hence, Christine continued unperturbed.

The surround screen inside the simulator displayed the air battle situation. Although Marie was sitting in the cockpit, she was not operating the controls. The screen was only replaying the simulated battle against twenty Raptors from just now.

Short-range homing missiles, Sidewinders, took down the lesser dragons one after another.

"However—"

Christine shrugged. By the time they noticed, the Raptors on the screen had closed in to engage within visual range—in other words, close-range combat.

Swarming the fighter jet, there were roughly ten Raptors attacking.

At first, it was still possible to evade the Raptors attacking from unexpected angles by repeated usage of advanced maneuvers such as quick turns, mid-air stops and rapid acceleration. But soon enough, the fuselage was knocked away by a Raptor then torn apart instantly by its swarming companions—

Christine spoke quietly, "The difficulty increases dramatically if they get into dogfighting range. These guys are fierce beasts, after all. Humans cannot surpass them in agility or reaction speed. Forget about remote controlled attack drones, even manned fighter jets are unable to surmount that tall barrier."

"......"

"Next—Raptors all target the land, right? Hence, the air squadron's mission is essentially over once the Raptors reach settlements. After all, fighter jets are not suited to low-altitude combat. Well, that being said, it is possible to fire air-to-surface missiles at Raptors that are rampaging in town."

"Then we become the ones to destroy the town..."

"Yes, with that, the cart is placed before the horse. By this point, it's hard to take down Raptors even if tanks or grenade launchers are mobilized. So that's when it's time for our 'serpents' enter the stage."

"In other words, to help the air force clean up dragons that get past..."

"Exactly. Oh my, frankly speaking, it's almost impossible to lose against Raptors whether in the air or on land. Except if you're unlucky enough to meet an elite."

"Oh, I remember that from training..."

"In addition, elites are able to use summoning magic to gather a flock of Raptors. Protected by magic on these occasions, they don't suffer from the 'hazy state prior to getting used to the atmosphere' mentioned earlier. These Raptors will attack our 'serpents' with lightning speed!"

"...No Summoning Sickness despite being Creatures. So unfair."

"Ahahaha."

Confronted with Marie's gamer-like response, Christine smiled wryly.

"If an elite shows up, they have only two choices. Either grovel and beg for support from a master-class witch or form a united team like ours to mobilize. Precisely because of that, we really look forward to the performance of new members~"

Suitable witch candidates were selected from the National Guard of the various East Coast states to form a team.

This was the concept behind the unit named the WotC. Including the newest addition of Marie, they currently had four witches. Christine was their team leader.

"There was apparently a plan to gather up master-class witches, but it never went anywhere because they're all a bit abnormal in the head. In the end, the current model resulted by prioritizing team efficiency."

"...Aren't you a Master Jedi, Christine?"

"Nope. I am the type with common sense and teamwork. Oh, but I heard earlier during the evening meeting. Recently, a team of witches was formed over in Japan. Reportedly, they have two master magi who are Shootdown Ace class."

Christine took out her smartphone and opened up the information she had received during the day.

A team that had North America's strongest vile witch—Luna Francois Gregory—as well as Europe's "Big Eater" Anastasya Rubashvili.

In addition, there was the Japanese boy who commanded these two top-class witches by virtue of his strength.

Christine clicked up Haruga Haruomi's profile on her phone. Apparently while traveling across the world as a treasure hunter, he had chanced upon Dragonslayer magic.

It was rumored that he had defeated a number of elites and even had combat experience against dragon king-class opponents.

In the photo, this legendary figure—Haruga Haruomi—was staring at the camera with sleepy eyes.

"This guy is the mastermind behind the Japan team."

"...Kind of cute looking. Like a goblin or a golem."

"Aren't those monsters? By the way, I'm not too familiar with RPGs."

"...Slightly different. Probably in between elves and monsters."

"I see. Oh, whatever. Anyway, he looks poorly motivated and lacking in communication skills. However, I think I'm a bit curious about him...?"

For Christine, this was a type she had never met in high school or the National Guard. Curious about something new, she felt a vague sense of affection towards this Japanese boy she had never met before. Currently, his group should be on their way to the East Coast. It would be nice if there was a chance to speak with him. Just as Christine was thinking that to herself—

An alarm blared from the speakers installed all over the base.

"...It's our turn to sortie?"

"Dunno yet. But we must get ready straight away. Follow me!"

While issuing orders to Marie, Christine started moving too.

Then she took out her cellphone to call her direct superior, the military consultant assigned by the US Air Force to the Governor of New York.

An air defense system had been built to detect the arrival of dragons as early as possible.

Unfortunately, it was still possible for it to fail in its purpose.

And one actual case occurred this very night in New York. The dragon king ruling over the Old Manhattan Concession suddenly started flying at high speed.

Red Hannibal's destination was the sky over the capital of New York State—Albany.

It was merely a distance of two hundred kilometers or so from Old Manhattan to here.

Traveling time was less than twenty minutes. Decelerating after reaching Albany's airspace, he started a slow descent.

Despite being a state capital, Albany was just a small city.

It was surrounded mostly by natural scenery such as mountains and forests, excellent for enjoying the pleasures of hiking or canoeing. The local population was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover, it was currently late at night.

Hence, very few people witnessed the dragon king's arrival.

However, every one of these people shook to their bones in fear without exception.

At the same time, the military airbases across the East Coast finally issued a "Red Hannibal alert" one after another.

Furthermore, the Governor of New York was heading to the capitol building after receiving an emergency crisis report.

Naturally, Hannibal did not care about the late night hour or the humans of the lower realm. Landing leisurely in front of the New York State Capitol, he roared loudly.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A roar matching the red dragon king's bestial nature.

The majestic roar resounded across every corner in the city of Albany.

People who had gone to bed were roused by this noise. Those who had yet to sleep were frozen with horror and terror occupying their minds and bodies. Unable to withstand such a shock, those afflicted with heart disease clutched their chests, panting. Some people even fainted directly out of fear.

What followed immediately after the roar ended was a fully rational voice.
[[image:Leviathan 05 101.jpg|thumb]]

Using his astounding baritone voice, Hannibal spoke sonorously, "Now then, residents of this city, as well as those of this state, I would like to make a proposal here."

All residents in the city heard the dragon king's voice, just like the roar earlier.

Infused with the dragon king's magical power, the speech was definitely reaching the ears of the people.

"Everyone of the media, I grant you special permission to come closer. But in return, I confer a mission upon you. Every word I say next must be recorded accurately and completely to be disseminated across the people."

Hannibal had even taken into account the reporters who happened to be present. To report on the story, news agencies and television station staff had already driven several vans to rush to the scene from nearby.

They were a group motivated by a mercantile interest in obtaining exclusive scoop about the great event of the dragon king's arrival.

Facing the cameras and microphones extended from these people, Hannibal spoke, "It has been twenty years since I made my residence in the land known as Manhattan. From what I have heard, this number of years is enough for humans like you to reach the legal age of majority. Furthermore, after reaching adulthood and acquiring the requisite wisdom, they are bestowed the right to stand as a candidate for election—This principle stands as the essence of the 'democracy' you humans invented."

An awe-inspiring speech delivered with clear enunciation.

Compared to the average human, he was more talkative. His English was also very fluent.

The ruler of Old Manhattan—Hannibal. He was not only the dragon king closest to humans but also the spokesman worthy of representing dragonkind.

"And the election for deciding this state's ruler through democratic means will be coming up soon. Thus, I present my request to you all—Allow me to participate in that battle."

Out from Hannibal's mouth came several terms that did not match the image of dragons.

Immediately, the contents of this speech pushed the audience's emotions from astonishment up to greater heights.

"I wish to become this country's... no, the most powerful statesman on earth. I would like to demonstrate to all residents of this state how fortunate they are to live under my protection. I repeat once again, please acknowledge me as a candidate for the election."

Fortunately, those listening to the dragon king's decree included people involved with the military.

The Air National Guard had mobilized fighter jets from the East Farm base fifteen kilometers from Albany and sent three rescue helicopters. One of them was transporting two witches.

Christine Hulk and Marie Thesz.

However, the two of them were coming face to face with the dragon king's majestic visage before they could contact the WotC's other two members.

The ultimate adversary towering over all elites—Red Hannibal.

The dragon king's body was exuding overwhelming magical power and presence, immobilizing Christine and Marie. In fact, these two's 'serpents' could not even accomplish the meager act of stalling for time.

"Let this be all for tonight. I shall reappear before you all in the near future. Save your answer until then. Humans, I look forward to your democratic choice!"

This was the last message left behind by the dragon king.

Having finished speaking, Hannibal spread his wide wings and flew.

Towards the sky—Towards his base of operations, the Old Manhattan Concession. No one dared to get in the way of his flying route.

The story above was the incident of "Hannibal Comes!" that had transpired during midnight on August 7th.

===Part 2===

Prior to the return of dragons, New York City was divided into five boroughs.

Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan.

But twenty years ago, the borough of Manhattan was chosen by dragonkind as a concession territory.

As the "face" symbolizing New York City, the area included Wall Street, Central Park, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square... Manhattan and its numerous landmarks fell under the rule of dragonkind, becoming the castle town of the dragon king Hannibal.

But apart from Old Manhattan, the other four boroughs still remained intact in the present day as "New York City."

2pm on August 7th. Hal and his friends were currently at the Bedford neighborhood in Brooklyn. More precisely, it was the parking lot of SAURU's New York branch.

"This year happens to be midterm election year in America."

"What are 'midterm elections'?"

Driving a rented minivan, Hal was just about to enter a perpendicular parking space when Hazumi posed a question to him from the back seat. Sitting next to her, Orihime quietly answered, "I recall that the results of such elections... can be taken as something like an approval rating for the US president?"

"Yes, that's the idea."

Presidents of the United States served terms of four years.

General elections held two years after a presidential election were named ''midterms''.

Offices up for election were spread across all kinds of civil servants, including the entire House of Representatives, a portion of the senators, as well as governors and mayors whose terms were up. These cases were all classified as midterm elections.

The two major parties in America were the Democrats and the Republicans.

And the number of elected Members of Congress and governors in the incumbent president's party was regarded as a major indicator. If numbers decreased, that meant the president's influence was waning.

This included New York State where an election for the governor was scheduled around November.

"Is it possible that Hannibal regularly reads newspapers?"

In half-joking, half-serious tone of voice, Hal remarked while getting off the car.

—This morning, his group had taken a plane here from Boston.

The flight to the entrance of the international metropolis of New York—John F. Kennedy airport—took roughly an hour. Then the trio had split up from Asya to buy supplies and equipment. Their goal was to get ready to infiltrate Hannibal's abode—Old Manhattan.

Hal opened the trunk and unloaded the stuff they had just bought.

Due to the relatively large quantities, the stuff was contained in three separate cardboard boxes. Seeing Orihime and Hazumi approaching to help out, Hal said, "Actually, Hannibal often leaves his concession territory every now and then."

" "Ehhh!?" "

"It's not just when he's attacking . It's usual for him to fly all over the place randomly, wandering New York State where Old Manhattan is located as well as neighboring states and counties, as though he's checking out his territory."

Facing two wide-eyed girls, Hal continued.

"The surrounding residents call his wandering behavior 'Hannibal Comes!' and treat it as a special event, with many department stores and shopping malls holding sales and promotions to commemorate the day too."

"P-People aren't afraid?"

"Isn't he clearly a king of dragonkind like Princess Yukikaze..."

Moving cardboard boxes together with Hal, Hazumi and Orihime expressed their surprise.

They next went to SAURU's New York branch. This was a five-story building whose entire interior was a facility belonging to the organization. The trio stepped into the building from the back door.

Since it was quite old, built in the 1980s, it was not very clean or tidy.

However, this messy place, all covered n dust, was like a homeland to Hal.

"They're afraid but there's nothing they can do. Since they're helpless, they might as well dilute the fear in this kind of joking manner. Furthermore, people have gotten used to it over time since Hannibal has not attacked human cities for a very long time now. It's inevitable for people to think that next time and the time after that probably won't be attacks either."

Why dragon kings did not attack human society aggressively—

By this point, Hal already knew the reason. Because they were not too interested in mere humans, they did not actively harm humans. But if some sort of cause were to arise, they would most likely slaughter and massacre mankind as though eradicating pests without a thought.

But this time, Hannibal had suddenly brought up the word "democracy"...

"By the way, Juujouji, what's your take on how Asya's been acting?"

"You mean her lack of appetite?"

Hal nodded affirmatively in response to Orihime's question.

After flying from Boston to New York, Hal and his group had eaten lunch at a cafe in JFK airport.

Having only eaten a light breakfast, Asya unbelievably ate only a bagel!

Hazumi tilted her head and said, "She must have be feeling unwell or caught a flu, right?"

"If it's Asya, even in those situations, she'd still say 'let's ate something easy to digest' before gulping down a large pot of porridge. I think there has to be some other reason."

While chatting, the trio went down the stairs to the basement.

They were making their way to the supplies storeroom to put down their cardboard boxes. In addition, Asya had already arrived at this building in advance. Due to a need for a master-class witch's counsel regarding the Hannibal incident, she was currently attending a meeting in the New York branch.

Someone was already in the storeroom before them.

"Yo Hal. It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke to him. He was a member of administrative staff who had served at this branch for around three years. Featuring a physique rivaling President M's, he was a thoroughly obese guy.

Since neither Hal nor Asya were visiting this branch for the first time, they were both acquainted with him.

"By the way, there are a few things that I want."

"I heard from Asya. Preparations are already underway."

The man took down a Kevlar rope from a shelf.

Impressive as always, Hal's childhood friend. Knowing clearly what this mission required, she had asked SAURU to obtain supplies as quickly as possible. It looked like Asya had communicated to them in advance.

"Add in the latest map of the Old Manhattan ruins, preferably no older than a month, if possible."

"Leave it to me. It'll be prepared along with everything else that's needed."

Until the end of the twentieth century, SAURU's New York branch had been situated in Manhattan.

Hal's aim was to infiltrate the place and obtain ancient texts related to King Solomon. Both this man here and Asya understood clearly what support the mission required. Despite being of different professions, they were working in the same field after all. This ease of communication was very helpful.

While Hal was filled with gratitude, the Caucasian man laughed and said, "You really have it tough. There are many rumors about you. No need to be shy, just let me know if you need help with small stuff like this."

After glancing at Orihime and Hazumi who were following Hal closely, he made a thumbs-up.

Apparently, news of Haruga Haruomi's acquisition of a dragonslaying rune had already spread within SAURU. Hal smiled wryly in response. Auntie Yulia's reason for making a personal visit to Tokyo was probably the same as his.

"You're helping me out a lot. Thanks."

"Oh? You can pay me back with interest when you make it big. By the way, Asya—"

The man suddenly frowned in puzzlement.

"What happened to her? I was enjoying a whole dozen of donuts when talking to her just now. I can't believe that Asya didn't say 'gimme some'!"

" " "......" " "

Hal frowned. Beside him, Orihime and Hazumi also showed worry on their faces.

The two girls were not very good at listening to English but still could get a rough idea that the man was noting that something was strange about Asya. Putting that aside, Hal wondered what was up with his childhood friend.

"Let's have a look to see how she's doing."

After setting down their belongings, Hal and company took the elevator to the fifth floor.

They entered the meeting room on the far end after knocking lightly at the door. Sitting at an oval desk were three members of the New York branch. Asya was with them but—

"Listen, Asya. Indeed, we issued a harsh protest last year because you consumed all of the branch's on-hand supplies of canned food and instant noodles..."

"But no matter what, we never forbade you from eating the snacks laid out here."

"In any case, we are very worried about the state of your health. Please, pick something you like to eat. If there isn't enough, we'll send someone out to buy more. No need to hold back!"

Three male members of staff at the branch were talking to the silver-haired girl.

In the center of the table were three bags of chips, including the most basic salted flavor, salsa flavor, an American classic as well as a trendy teriyaki flavor. In addition, there were sausages, onion rings and cheddar cheese snacks on the table.

All junk food with excessive oil and salt content.

And these were all Asya's favorites—At least, they were supposed to be.

"Fufufu. Thank you for the kind offer, everyone, but don't worry, I'm not hungry at the moment. Please save it for next time."

Smiling demurely, Asya refused food!

Hal could not help but feel shocked. His childhood friend had definitely said the words "I'm not hungry at the moment." It was reality, not a hallucination—How could this be possible!?

Hal stared at Asya without thinking.

This might be the first time in his life for him to stare at her so seriously.

To think that there was a side to Anastasya Rubashvili unknown to Hal when he believed that he had already understood her thoroughly inside out—?

Next, Asya noticed Hal's gaze and slowly turned her head to show a faint smile towards him.

In that instant, Hal unbelievably found that smile incredibly gorgeous. His heart skipped a beat. This was no joke. What was with Asya?

"That Asya is worrying us when we're clearly about to sneak into Manhattan tomorrow..."

"But Haruga-kun, I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with her health. Perhaps we are the ones who are worrying too much? Rather, it seems that Asya-san is even livelier than usual."

That night after reaching New York, Hal did something he normally would never do. He called a girl to his hotel room to begin a discussion.

The one he was confiding in was Orihime, smiling optimistically.

"Think about it. Always whining about being hungry and quickly complaining about running out of energy, she's like a male lion lazing around on a savanna. But today, it's like she became a different person."

"......"

"Although everyone has been saying how weird it is, the amount of food Asya-san ate today would actually be just right for such a slender girl."

"Hmm—But I totally don't get why she'd suddenly become like this."

"Haruga-kun, do you truly not understand?"

"Yeah, no clue at all."

The instant he replied, Orihime sighed deeply then stared sharply at him.

"Jeez... It's very obvious that she's on a diet!"

"Di—Don't be ridiculous. It's Asya we're talking about here, you know!?"

"You are the one being ridiculous, Haruga-kun! For a girl's weight, even a kilogram... no, even a 500g or 50g difference would be huge. If you need an analogy, there exist girls who might agree to a contract with the devil just to become five kilograms lighter."

"E-Even you, Juujouji?"

"......"

Orihime glared intently at Hal.

Hal deeply regretted asking that. For the first time, he felt fear and pressure because of Orihime.

"Ahem. This isn't about me but my friend. She's the type... whose various sizes are relatively big, so it's only natural for her weight to be proportionally higher. That's why, if the devil came knocking at her door with that kind of deal, perhaps she might really waver a little..."

"For sure, your various parts are amazing, Juujouji."

"Don't get the wrong idea! This is about my friend, not me!"

"Ah, yes."

Scolded harshly, Hal immediately straightened his back.

Apparently satisfied with his reaction, Orihime stared at Hal and suddenly changed the subject.

"Putting that aside, Haruga-kun, I believe there are more pressing matters to worry about tonight than dieting."

"There are?"

"Of course. For tomorrow's infiltration operation into the Manhattan Concession, I expect you and Asya-san will be carrying it out alone, right? Aren't you being slightly too cautious about this? Wasn't it much more relaxed when we went to the Old Tokyo Concession?"

Setting off to Old Tokyo in the afternoon after having just made the decision in the morning. This was a set pattern when operating in Tokyo New Town previously.

However, a lot of time and energy had been spent on equipment and information gathering in preparation for this operation.

"This time's target is a place that's several times more troublesome than Old Tokyo, after all. The one in Tokyo is just a wasteland where getting around is inconvenient but Old Manhattan is inhabited by all kinds of dangerous monsters."

"Monsters!?"

"That being said, there shouldn't be a huge problem. As I am now, I own a magic wand—that gun—while Asya's Rushalka is also in peak form. It'll actually be easier if it's just us two."

"...I guess you are right."

Orihime sighed and smiled—That smile was probably made on purpose.

"Originally, I really wanted to come along because I was worried about you two. But now that I feel like I might get in the way instead, never mind. If you and Asya-san truly needed assistance from me and Hazumi, you would have counted us in when deciding teams from the start."

"Uh, well—"

"It's fine. I can understand your considerations."

"......"

Usage of ''leviathan'' powers had to be minimized as much as possible during this infiltration operation.

In that case, a two-man team consisting of only Hal and Asya would be the best choice. As expected of Juujouji Orihime, who was great at reading between the lines, she understood on her own without needing Hal to explain explicitly.

Ever since he met her this spring, Hal had found her observant personality to be very helpful at all times.

Realizing this fact again, Hal was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since we last chatted alone together."

"After all, Haruga-kun, you went to Papua New Guinea earlier and after coming to America, we've been going around as a group most of the time...... Oh."

Seeing Orihime suddenly fall silent, Hal asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing... It's nothing. I simply remembered something because you mentioned about being alone together. Pay it no heed. I also feel it's also a bit too impolite for me to suddenly ask such a personal question..."

"Anyway, let me hear it first. I'll answer as long as it's within my knowledge."

"R-Really? Well... Do you and Luna-san frequently spend time alone together?"

"!?"

"B-Because, didn't Luna-san confess to you last time? Also, the two of you traveled abroad and e-even did ''that''..."

Hal shook. By ''that'', she was presumably referring to kissing Luna.

It happened once during the Izu expedition. Prior to coming to America, there was another one, kept secret from the others. Although it was not Hal's intention, the second time had even taken place under the public eye.

Seeing Hal's panicked look, Orihime silently bowed her head.

"So you do intend to go out with Luna-san...?"

"O-Of course not. Although I'm very grateful for her suggestion, we haven't progressed to that stage yet. Besides, won't having a romantic relationship within the team be a hindrance to work? Personally, I find that social relationships become troublesome when they become too close, so it's best to avoid that like the plague after all!"

For example, suppose Chief A and Subordinate B became a couple.

This could cause Chief A to favor B excessively, causing other subordinates to feel disgruntled. Conversely, B might actively demand special treatment. Things might be fine if Chief A and B were on good terms, but if the two of them were to fight, the group dynamic would fall to rock bottom...

"To prevent that kind of predicament, the first priority is to forbid romance within the team!"

"But in America school dramas, don't couples quickly form within the group?"

"Ah, yes. Those are quite outrageous. Breaking up within a couple months then immediately hooking up with another friend—But those are merely fictional plots!"

"But if it's you and Luna-san, I get the feeling you'd say 'just keep it underground' and date secretly without telling the rest of us—"

"Yes, because Luna and I are both devious, that's very possible—"

Hal raised the volume of his voice, trying hard to dispel Orihime's doubt.

"But this kind of thing definitely won't happen. I swear to God!"

"You sound like a liar when you swear to God or heaven and earth so easily..."

"Oh, otherwise, let me lay my conscience on the line. A Christian in the same situation would say 'I swear by the Bible that the testimony I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' just like in front of a judge!"

Hal spoke excitedly to the distrustful Orihime.

However, somewhere in a corner of his mind, he found this unbelievable. Why was he trying his hardest to explain? What was the big deal even if suspicions were directed at him?

After all, he and Luna were not lovers and this was the unmistakable truth (although it was also true that they had kissed).

Next, Hal figured it out roughly.

This kind of situation was not completely unrelated to why he had been able to hit the brakes in the nick of time when almost devoured by the American girl's charm on several occasions. In fact, every time when Hal's heart started pounding due to Luna's bold courtship, he would frequently think of ''Orihime'' involuntarily.

"Juujouji..."

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, if the fact that Luna-san k-kissed you is what makes you uneasy, would sharing a kiss with someone else—Make things alright?"

"Huh?"

"B-Basically, if another girl were to kiss you, would that allow you to treat her like Luna-san... Something like that......"

"I think—probably, maybe..."

"......"

The two of them were alone in a room. Gazing into each other's eyes, in a hotel while on a trip. Hal trembled slightly from the nervous tension his body and mind had never felt before. Orihime felt very nervous too.

For some reason, Hal was quite certain. At this very moment, neither of them needed further words.

Similarly, for some reason, Orihime was also certain of the same thing—That they could reach mutual understanding just by gazing at each other.

After that, all they needed was a trigger no matter how tiny. Indeed, like what Orihime was doing right now—gazing at Hal with moist eyes—slowly drawing up closer to him at the same time.

Hal extended his right hand, intending to take Orihime's hand—At that instant...
[[image:Leviathan 05 118.jpg|thumb]]

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The cellphone on the bedside suddenly rang.

The two of them suddenly came to their senses and looked at the cellphone together. Hal swiftly picked up the call.

"What's up, Asya? Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, but it's about work. I'd like to discuss tomorrow's rundown with you, Haruomi, can I visit your room?"

"Oh...... Sure. Of course you can."

Realizing the situation, Orihime nodded at Hal, so he immediately agreed. However, although there was just a momentary pause, the caller on the other side instantly reacted.

"Is there someone there right now by any chance?"

"!? N-No."

"Really? Then I'm coming over now. See you later."

After the call ended, Orihime said "then I'll be off first" and stood up from her chair.

Seeing her off at the doorway, Hal heard an unexpected question just as they were parting.

"U-Umm. Next time... May I still come over to visit you? I... would like to have a good chat with you when we're both free, to relax or something—"

"U-Us?"

Hal originally wanted to ask "just the two of us?" but switched to a more tactful wording in the end.

As a result, Orihime looked shyly at Hal and nodded.

"Y-Yes. As long as it doesn't bother you..."

"Not at all. You're welcome any time."

Hal answered her immediately, eliciting a blushing smile from Orihime.

Ten minutes later, Hal held a brief meeting with Asya who had come to his room. The pounding in his heart from spending time with Orihime still lingered but he carefully concealed it, preventing it from showing on his face.

After Asya left, Hal went to bed at around 11pm. Lying on the bed, he began to ponder.

He expected it would not be until afternoon before departing to infiltrate the concession territory. In that case, he should sleep in till late morning, to conserve his energy fully... However, this easily ended up wishful thinking on his part.

Early next morning, the New York sky was blotted out by a flock of almost a thousand Raptors.

===Part 3===

The time the anomaly occurred was 6:22am on August 8, early in the morning to boot.

The Raptors descended en masse with almost a thousand of them crashing down collectively like a meteor rain—

Normally speaking, there would be a few hours of buffer time between them breaking through the atmosphere and reaching a city's airspace.

But this time, what called them to the ground was dragonkind's summoning magic.

Merely a minute or two elapsed between them penetrating the atmosphere at 6:22 and arriving in the air above Jamaica Bay at New York City. It was a record that laughed in the face of common sense and the laws of physics.

Most specialists in the field of dragons would despair when confronted by such a situation, expecting the utter destruction of Neew York City.

However, the Raptors simply circled in the air over Jamaica Bay without attacking the surface, flying back and forth across the sky.

By 7:45am, Hal also arrived at a beach on Jamaica Bay.

Naturally, he was accompanied by Asya, Orihime and Hazumi. Accepting the request from SAURU's New York branch, they arrived on the scene to assist in handling the situation.

Overhead in the sky, a terrifying number of Raptors were flying in flocks.

However, there were no elite dragons among them.

"Where the heck is the elite that summoned them...?"

"Speaking of elites in New York City, there's definitely a dragon king living here..."

" "......" "

Asya was evidently thinking of the worst-case scenario. Hal sighed simultaneously. The possibility of an elite running over to "cause trouble" near a dragon king's territory was extremely unlikely.

"B-But thank goodness. Fortunately, they came to somewhere uninhabited."

Surveying the scenery surrounding Jamaica Bay, Hazumi commented.

Located south of New York City, Jamaica Bay was connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the majority of the bay consisted of wetlands. At the same time, it was a protected natural reserve. The bay's vast wetlands were full of flourishing trees with freshwater ponds and marshland scattered within.

This protected zone's area was actually nine thousand acres, roughly three hundred square kilometers.

The area was several times that of the Old Tokyo Concession.

"It's also possible that the Raptors' summoner deliberately chose this location?"

"To avoid harming the residents of New York? In that case, there is high chance that it's Mr. Hannibal who has announced his candidacy in the governor election..."

Hearing Hal's whisper, Orihime gasped.

The three witches from Japan had already materialized their partners. The three "serpents" were standing by on the beach of Jamaica Bay.

Europe' strongest Shootdown Ace—Blue Rushalka the wyvern.

The white nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

The unconventionally colored serpentine dragon leviathan Minadzuki lacking a horn counterpart.

Rushalka was standing upright on her hind legs like a bird on the ground whereas Akuro-Ou was lying down on the ground like a trained dog. On the other hand, Minadzuki had her slender body rolled up in a coil.

However, Hal and his team were not the only dragon specialists on this beach.

Several kilometers from their location, another team was also on standby. They were the four witches of the WotC and their partners.

All of their leviathans were quadrupedal felines dozens of meters in body length.

The lynx "Tom Cat" with dazzling silver fur. The ferocious albino tiger "Tiger Cat." The black panther "Wild Cat" whose entire body was shrouded in lightning and sparks. Then there was the feline that resembled a rotund bear, standing and walking upright on hind legs, "Bear Cat."

These four leviathans stood as the WotC's combat potential.

Ground forces were also deployed along the coastline of Jamaica Bay.

Prior to the arrival of Hal's team, the army had already transported to the scene all kinds of weapons imaginable, including M1 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, etc.

However, the human side had yet to launch any attacks.

"That's to avoid unnecessary casualties and military spending. No point taking unknown risks."

Next to Hal, Asya explained to Orihime and Hazumi.

"Rushalka and I can clear out 90% of them within five minutes if it's just this quantity of Raptors. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki could probably wipe out the rest. Any ones missed could be allowed to escape back to the wild. Of course, it'd be a different matter if they intend to attack settlements—"

Glaring sharply at the invading Raptors, Asya issued a bold declaration.

Over a month had gone by since her partner's revival and acquisition of Queen Form. By now, Asya had fully comprehended and mastered the powers of Rushalka who had become far stronger than she ever was.

Hence, Asya had the right to brag. Failure was impossible.

"How will the enemy mastermind make a move... That's what's crucial. Let's watch until there's movement. Please cover me depending on the situation."

Gathered at this battlefield was the army and the WotC. Orders had already been issued to them through SAURU: They were to focus on their role as support and forbidden from engaging in combat recklessly to avoid hindering Rushalka's full mobility.

In other words, Asya and Rushalka were the main stars on the human side.

As for the main role on the dragon side—He finally made a gradual appearance from the south.

South of Jamaica Bay was the Atlantic Ocean. Rising from the other side of the horizon, Red Hannibal was leading his Army of Fire, flying towards them.

Behind the dragon king were roughly three hundred "lizard-shaped flames."

The salamanders had a body length of seven meters, on the order of Raptors in size.

"Is that the Army of Fire—Hannibal's minions!?"

While summoning the magic gun in his right hand, Hal cried out.

For the past twenty years, Red Hannibal had seldom appeared on the battlefields between dragonkind and humanity, rare enough to count on one hand. However, when deemed necessary, he would appear with the Army of Fire under his command.

His minons were neither dragons, leviathans nor dragon subspecies. Instead, they were fire spirits.

Towards the beach where Hal was located, Hannibal and his great army approached at high speed.

Was he planning to converge with the Raptors here to then launch an all-out offensive? Anyone would consider this possibility, but at that moment, Hannibal emitted a thunderous roar.

"Thank you for your patience, humans! You saved me a lot of trouble by gathering here before you were summoned! My election campaign is about to begin this moment!"

"What election...? Is he really sticking to that candidate story from before?" Hal muttered quietly

Hannibal's voice was infused with magical power.

Like last time at Albany, this was to allow all citizens to hear his speech. Compared to Albany, New York City covered a much greater area, but Hannibal's magical power was probably enough to allow a dragon king's decree to reach every corner.

The thousand Raptors circling in the air started to take action again.

The flock of dragons had been flying back and forth in the air without causing trouble so far, but in the next instant, an attack impulse erupted. The thousand Raptors all flew towards their target.

Indeed, the ferocious beasts launched an attack—Their target was Hannibal's army!

"I summoned these winged lizards from the sky. Seeking to become the ruler of you all, I shall display my level of power by using them as my opponents. I wish to demonstrate a king's power through action without wasting any more breath on words!"

"—Suddenly going completely against the principles of democracy!"

The dragon king's statement was truly deserving of ridicule.

However, no sooner had Hal spoken than the battle began. No, rather than battle, it was actually no different from a massacre. One-sided slaughter.

At the forefront, Hannibal charged into the enemy ranks, leading his army of salamanders.

Confronting this conspicuous enemy commander, the Raptors roared loudly and swarmed him.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Most likely due to the effects of mind control magic, the Raptors' attack impulse was amplified greatly. Otherwise, there was no way they could engage in such insubordination against a dragon king standing at the pinnacle of their race.

However, the poor Raptors were unable to touch a single hair of Hannibal's despite the best efforts from their sharp claws and teeth.

Three hundred salamanders—the Army of Fire—deployed a defensive line around the dragon king in three hundred and sixty degrees, forming a shield with their bodies.

As soon as they touched the salamanders, the Raptors immediately caught fire.

Within a brief instant, flames spread all over the Raptors touched by the salamanders, enveloping them in an intense blaze, incinerating them utterly, causing them to crash to the ground.

Everything touched by the salamanders were turned to ash within an instant. This was the magical power of the Army of Fire.

Some of the Raptors were exhaling high-temperature blue-white flames.

However, the salamanders were shrouded in even hotter flames. The Raptor's scorching breaths were completely unable to inflict any damage at all.

Finally, the thousand Raptors were literally turned into fireballs, crashing down slowly into Jamaica Bay. The one-sided massacre ended.

Seeing this tragic sight, Orihime said softly, "I-It's just like the Battle of Nagashino. Nobunaga's three-stage attack delivered a devastating defeat to Takeda's cavalry forces..."

"It's also quite similar to the First World War. Fortified in trenches, defending armies used machine guns to kill approaching infantry, hundreds, thousands at a time."

"This kind of result isn't unusual as long as the defending side holds a minimum level of firepower."

Asya and Hal started to chat about inconsequential things.

Although the trio were consciously trying to lighten the atmosphere, the tone of their voices was quite somber. Had Hannibal the intention, he could aim this immense firepower at the humans below him any time he wanted.

Meanwhile, Hazumi concentrated her gaze below on her own.

"Oh no... The fires need to be put out fast!"

Turned into fireballs, most of the Raptors were burned away during their fall without any bones remaining.

However, some of them managed to crash into ground before they had incinerated completely.

Indeed, the battlefield was in the sky over Jamaica Bay but the bay included over nine thousand acres of wetlands.

Composed mostly from swamps, forests and grassland, it was a paradise for birds and beasts.

If the burning Raptors fell on the wetlands, all the vegetation would burn up from the fire.

Seeing fires lit up all over the wetlands, the wild birds flew into the air successively to escape. Witnessing this scene, Hazumi could not help but cry out, "Please, Minadzuki! Hurry and stop those flames!"

An abstract order lacking in specifics.

"Serpents" could not be controlled skillfully without vivid mental imagery and strong force of will. This was common sense in the world of witches.

Nevertheless, Hazumi's wish was both pure and sincere. Hence, Minadzuki responded to her successfully.

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

Coiled up on the ground until just now, Minadzuki sang with a wonderful voice and arched her neck.

Immediately, she invoked the pseudo-divinity of Wind. The serpentine dragon leviathan released her entire body's magical power and flew swiftly towards the great wetlands of Jamaica Bay.

In the next instant, the surrounding fires were all extinguished within the blink of an eye.

After that, there were still dozens of burning Raptors falling to the ground, but the flames disappeared without trace the instant they made contact.

Using pseudo-divinity, Minadzuki had succeeded in creating a barrier to seal flames away.

"I see, eliminating oxygen particles from the air..."

Hal nodded. So-called wind ultimately consisted of air currents. Minadzuki had removed from the air the oxygen particles required for combustion, thereby sealing the flames away.

"Responding to a young maiden's prayer, how unbelievably smart."

"Since Hazumi-san and Minadzuki have taken charge of protecting the environment, looks like there's nothing left for us to do... Well, let's see what ''he'' is planning to do next."

Asya stared at Hannibal in the air.

The dragon king was guarded by the salamander army. Unlike Hal, who had summoned his magic gun, Hannibal was not holding a dragonslaying weapon. To him, the previous scene was nothing more than a statement delivered as though one were humming a tune casually.

Currently, only about a hundred Raptors remained.

With 90% of them immolated, the mental state of the survivors seemed to return to normal at last.

One after another, the Raptors started to flee in the face of Hannibal's army. They flew at full speed in separate directions, trying to escape from the dragon king's presence as quickly as possible.

To hunt them down, the three hundred salamanders finally left Hannibal's side.

The fire spirits were flying haphazardly overhead, bringing the Raptor hunt to a climax. At that moment, Orihime spoke in amazement, "Look... Aren't they acting a bit strange?"

Orihime's pale finger was pointed at the leviathans on the ground.

Rather than the partners of Hal's teammates, they were the WotC's four feline leviathans.

Tom Cat, Tiger Cat, Wild Cat and Bear Cat.

The four leviathans were exuding unnatural blood lust, arching their backs like cats, baring their fangs, vocally threatening the salamanders in the air. Fierce growls were coming from their mouths.

To pacify them, their partners, the four witches, were desperately calling out to them from the side.

Slightly surprised, Asya used Magical Power Inspection magic.

"Minadzuki's Anti-Fire is not the only magic cast on the area. There is also the Stampede spell Hannibal used on the Raptors—That's the magic affecting them right now!"

"B-But why are Akuro-Ou and the others clearly fine!?"

"They're probably guarded by Haruomi's rune. However, the 'serpents' over there don't have the same protection...!" Asya answered Orihime's doubt.

Finally, the feline leviathans ignored the four witch partners' restraining orders and flew into the sky together to launch an offensive on the airborne salamanders.

The WotC team of witches were neither master-class nor protected by the power of dragonbane.

Their partners could not possibly be a match for Hannibal's minions. At this rate, they were surely going to be killed tragically.

"Stand down!"

Hal drew out magical power from his heart and instantly cast Magic Dispel.

Imbuing this spell into his magic gun's bullets, he shot four times in succession with lightning speed. The crimson bullets of light homed in autonomously, catching up to the WotC's cats.

The four bullets all struck the four feline leviathans accurately.

That being said, he only aimed for their hind legs—the paws. To avoid causing severe injuries, he had deliberately chosen targets far away from the hearts, i.e. the heartmetals.

The pain and the impact caused the cats' flying speed to drop suddenly.

"I'm leaving the rest to you all!"

"No problem. Rushalka, approach them and pull them down from the sky!"

"I'm counting on you too, Akuro-Ou. Don't let them go over there."

Responding to Hal's request, Asya and Orihime gave instructions.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Standing by on the ground until just now, Rushalka and Akuro-Ou cried out loudly then ascended immediately. They easily caught up to the WotC's cats that had slowed down.

Then circling repeatedly in the air, they guided the injured cats back to the ground.

The four feline leviathans obediently followed Rushalka and Akuro-Ou. They had regained their sanity.

The bullets infused with Magic Dispel had successfully freed them from the Stampede curse.

Meanwhile, with the disturbance in the witches' ranks quelled, the aerial battle—or perhaps more aptly, a mock battle—had already been settled. The salamanders had annihilated all remaining Raptors.

"Well then, everyone in power..."

The ruler of this sky—Hannibal—announced sonorously.

"That is all. I hope that it fulfilled its role as my first speech. Although I have demonstrated merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to my power, I believe all of you are now able to understand my capacity as a powerful leader. Next, I shall set up a venue to meet and talk with the incumbent governor. I believe there are many details to discuss regarding my participation in the election!"

Having said that, Hannibal immediately withdrew.

Leading his Army of Fire, the red dragon king flew north.

In that direction was the Old Manhattan Concession. It was not only his residence but also the area where Hal and Asya were going to infiltrate next.

===Part 4===

In this manner, the Hannibal farce at Jamaica Bay came to a close.

After the dragon king, who served as screenwriter, director and lead actor, as well as the salamanders serving as extras had left, Hal was inexplicably surrounded by a group of girls and ''received with hospitality''.

When they were wandering around to verify the surrounding situation after the battle—

He was suddenly grabbed by the WotC and dragged to their temporary command center. A party tent, commonly seen during outdoor events in Japan, was set up on the beach at Jamaica Bay. They even had long tables of foldable tatami and other simple furnishings.

Dressed in the uniform of the Air National Guard's uniform, four girls were currently gathered around Hal.

"Thank you so much for just now! It's all because of you that we were saved," Christine Hulk spoke with a dazzling smile.

She opened a can of coke with a pop and handed it to Hal.

Her tone of voice was like a boy's but she was blonde with an outstanding figure. More specifically, she had a magnificent bust, highly conspicuous in how it filled out and stretched her Air National Guard uniform.

Christine was the leader of the WotC team.

"When the serpents went out of control, I was already bracing myself for the worst. But you showed up gallantly and rescued us. Yes, it's all thanks to you."

"Not at all. It wasn't anything amazing."

"Is this attitude what they call Japanese modesty? As expected of the man of legend, you're definitely different from the rest!"

"You're too kind. Putting that aside, Miss Christine, don't you think you're being a bit too close?"

"Oh sorry. That's because we're always like this between teammates."

Hal was sitting on a pipe chair. Christine swiftly placed a chair by his side and sat down too.

However, there was almost no separation between her and Hal. The blonde witch from the East Coast was pressing herself tightly against the Japanese boy. Thanks to that, the scent of Christine's perfume was etched firmly into Hal's memory.

Due to his nature as a closet pervert, Hal was conscious of his own involuntary leering.

That being said, he also had a gentleman's pride, of course. Hal coughed deliberately and tensed his face solemnly again.

"Do you find it off-putting? Sorry about that."

"I don't dislike it at all. Indeed. ''Mo muntai'' for me."

"Ahaha, why are you suddenly speaking Chinese? Oh, and just Christine please. Can I call you Hal?"

"Of course."

While Hal was nodding, a girl who looked like a grade schooler came over.

This was the youngest in the team, Marie Thesz, twelve years old. Lacking in facial expression. A head of brown hair. The young girl said "here" and presented a pizza takeout box to Hal.

"Here you go. Thanks for just now."

"You're welcome..."

Marie appeared to be what was known as the wordless archetype. Incidentally, the pizza was a margherita all covered with mozarella cheese. Speaking of which, Hal had rushed to the scene without any time to have breakfast.

"A discount promotion after Hannibal's appearance... It's soon becoming something of a New York specialty."

Taking a slice of pizza, Hal began to eat, relishing the treat.

"So pizza deliveries extend to battlefields nowadays?"

"They get used to it over time... I guess the reason's probably something like that."

The one who answered him was the third member of the WotC, Maneesha Kaul.

Sixteen years old. An Indian girl with an olive complexion, dressed in military uniform, her head and shoulders hidden under a pink shawl. Her gorgeous long hair, sleek and black, reached down to her waist.

Maneesha smiled gracefully. Both her poise and manner of speaking were very dignified.

"The pizza delivery service we used on this occasion offers a half price deal if you order within thirty minutes of Hannibal's appearance."

Hal speculated that Maneesha was surely a well-bred young lady from the rich upper-class.

Then there was a sudden "thud!" Hal looked to see a can of beer set down forcefully on the table before him.

Standing 185cm tall, a statuesque African-American witch with a model's figure, Kate Patterson.

She was the one who had put down the beer. Opening another can of beer with her left hand, she leaned her head back for a hearty swig.

"Here's your reward. Drink."

"It's a shame but I'm still a minor."

Nodding with a response of "really?" to Hal's unhesitating answer, Kate continued to drink her beer heartily. Looking to be in her twenties, wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses, she was undoubtedly the epitome of cool. Awesomeness personified.

"How much do you earn? Annual salary."

"Huh?"

Hal was surprised by Kate's sudden question.

Christine, Marie and Maneesha also looked in their direction with interest.

"You are a capable man just as we heard. And today, we confirmed it with our own eyes."

"After knowing this, we would like very much to have someone talented like you, which is why I'm asking to see how much remuneration is required to sign an exclusive contract with you."

Kate and Christine explained alternately.

"Although our magical power is less than the master magi, we get along great together. Our compatibility and teamwork are excellent despite our idiosyncrasies. Basically, my team does not recruit witches who have personality problems or lack adaptability."

"That is so true."

Two years ago in Copenhagen, Hal had shared a table with five master-class witches including Asya.

At the time, he was serving as an escort for witches of widely varying nationalities, ages, personalities, interests and religious faiths. He was assigned the task of taking them out for dinner.

Every time Hal found a candidate restaurant on the internet and asked "How about this one?" Someone other than Asya would inevitably express their discontent and say "You're going to make me eat that kind of food!?" These witches were clearly not kindergarteners, yet none of them were willing to compromise.

Recalling the hardship on that occasion, Hal found the WotC girls to be as endearing as angels in comparison.

That being said, Hal also had his own considerations. He spoke to the leader, Christine, "I currently have no intention of joining any group exclusively, so I must decline your kind offer."

"Got it. I think there will be many more opportunities to work together in the future, so I'll look forward to that. Can you give me your cellphone number?"

"Sure."

"Can I call you for a chat from time to time and invite you for dates outside of work?"

"Of course—What did you just say?"

"Personal dates. Going out, just the two of us."

"Why!?"

"Because you've aroused my curiosity. I'd be delighted if you don't decline when I ask you out. Well then, see you in a few days, Hal. I think we will be meeting for a discussion about Hannibal!"

After getting surprised by the smiling Christine, Hal exited the event tent.

Then he was surprised again—Asya was walking over.

"Perfect, I was just looking for you, Haruomi. You came over here as expected."

"Expected? Did the WotC call you?"

"No, it was just an instinctive hunch."

"......"

Finding him by instinct alone. How beyond common sense. However, Asya was a witch. Added to that fact was her beast-like sixth sense and intuition.
[[image:Leviathan 05 137.jpg|thumb]]

Deciding that there was nothing strange in that case, Hal listened to his childhood friend's cold voice.

"Your lecher face is showing, Haruomi."

"Huh!?"

"You must have come across something good to do with girls... Am I wrong?"

"D-Don't be silly. Let's hurry on our way. There's still time today, so let's sneak into Old Manhattan as planned."

It was not yet 10am, so there was no need to change their afternoon plans.

After being questioned by Asya, Hal secretly cocked his head. After reducing her food intake, something seemed to have changed with his childhood friend—This thought surfaced in his mind.

The Old Manhattan Concession.

Located on the mouth of Hudson River, this vast sandbank was Manhattan Island.

This used to be the center of New York City, an urban metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers. A land whose every inch was covered by buildings. High-rise buildings, putting even the Tower of Babel to shame, were too many to count.

However, the skyscrapers in this land were devoid of ''human'' residents. It had become a city of forsaken ruins.

"Well, it is home to non-human monsters on the other hand."

"Get ready to activate magical sight any time, Haruomi."

After the unexpected event, they finally arrived at their true destination.

Hal and Asya were riding a large military four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Old Manhattan Concession was located on a river island at the mouth of the Hudson. Whether via sea or air, trespassing was explicitly forbidden according to the terms of the original treaty establishing this land as a concession territory.

On the north side of Manhattan—starting from the Bronx—all roads had been blockaded securely.

All bridges leading here had been demolished or dismantled, with only one exception—Manhattan Bridge on the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

Only this bridge remained open and unrestricted.

...As for why this bridge had been kept, there was an urban legend circulating.

'A door needs to be open to enable dialogue with the humans as necessary.'

Hannibal had conveyed such a message.

Disregarding whether it was actually true or not, in any case, Hal and Asya made their way to the concession territory from Manhattan Bridge.

Asya was the one gripping the steering wheel whereas Hal was in the front passenger seat with his magic gun in hand on standby. This was a distribution of roles to prevent the local inhabitants from attacking them.

In fact, they immediately discovered as soon as they entered the concession territory.

A white orb of light was floating around, wandering the streets.

Roughly the size of a basketball, this type of supernatural being was named the "fire elemental" by scholars.

Arriving at the Chinatown near Manhattan Bridge, Hal said, "Asya, I want to fire a test shot to see the extent of effects. It's necessary to confirm."

"You're right. Despite being a ridiculous magical weapon, it still falls under the category of ''firearm''."

After stopping the car, the two of them went outside. Hal and Asya activated magical sight.

They ended up discovering trouble apart from the fire elementals they saw just now.

Spirits without physical form were wandering the concession territory like pedestrians.

Gray vortexes, amorphous black shadows, humanoid figures with ambiguous outlines—Hal and Asya's magical sight allowed them to discern the appearances of spirits.

"Dead spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, elemental spirits, miscellaneous spirits... Probably a long list like that if one had to categorize all the different spirits gathered in Old Manhattan. It feels like you'll catch some kind of unknown curse even if you pass by them discreetly."

"Oh well, you're a a master-class witch, Asya, while I have imperishable protection," responding to his childhood friend's whispers, Hal shrugged.

"Spirit issues should be resolvable somehow. The fire elementals still take priority after all."

Hal pointed the muzzle of his gun at the ground then took out a silencer to attach securely to it.

Then he fired two shots—Bang, bang. The bullets of light were expelled with fainter gunshots than usual and chipped away a piece of the asphalt. Hal and Asya immediately looked around them.

The white orb of light—the fire elemental—multiplied from one into three.

It had divided. During that instant of the magic bullets' impact.

"Relative to just now, the temperature has risen two degrees too."

Asya took out an electronic thermometer and reported to Hal.

This Old Manhattan Concession was Hannibal's territory where the Army of Fire was stationed.

Naturally, spirits of the fire alignment resided within the territory. If high-temperature flames were to appear, nearby fire spirits would activate.

There would be nothing to worry about if all these firefly-like orbs of light did was multiply, but—

Hal and Asya returned to the car and continued to drive.

"As suspected, even my gun will stimulate the fire elementals."

It was imperative to avoid using tools and machinery that produced fire or heat.

Hal shared the first piece of insight he had obtained after infiltrating the Old Manhattan Concession.

In that case, they should actually avoid using cars that relied on petrol engines. However, even the heat from electric engines or human body warmth was enough to activate fire elementals.

—Using low-heat, low-speed means of locomotion would increase the duration of their stay.

—Conversely, using high-heat, high-speed movement would decrease the duration of their stay.

With the risks being similar, Hal and Asya decided on the latter. Their target was the Upper East Side, a residential area containing their ultimate destination—the former SAURU New York branch.

After leaving the job of driving to Asya completely, Hal sank deep into the front passenger seat.

Manhattan was an elongated area stretching north-south.

Its area was roughly the sum of Old Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku, Chūō and Minato wards. Upper East Side was located in the mid-portion of Manhattan while the bridge Hal and Asya crossed was on the south end.

"From here to our destination, we'll need to make a huge detour."

"Because many roads are no longer usable. It's a chaotic city that's easy to get disoriented in, after all. Please understand."

Not long before becoming a concession territory, Manhattan had suffered a large-scale assault from dragonkind.

As a result, collapsed buildings and debris were scattered all over the streets.

Due to many blocked roads and obstacles, it was hard to increase the driving speed. In the end, they had to keep making detours.

Furthermore, Asya was already using the shortest route determined through the latest satellite images.

Even though they were driving from Chinatown at southern Manhattan to the middle of the area, they had to make a large detour to the western part of town. If New York citizens from the previous century were told about this route, they would probably end up completely puzzled. Currently, there were almost no usable roads in southern Manhattan.

Their speed ranged from thirty to fifty kilometers per hour, changing nonstop depending on road conditions.

In this manner, the pair were driving in the western part of Old Manhattan—

By the time they noticed, there were already more than a hundred fire elementals following the heat emanating from the military vehicle.

"It's almost time to get out, right?"

"This is the limit..."

The next instant after their whispered exchange, the gathered elementals started to merge together.

The hundred or so orbs of light that were present so far merged to take on a "lizard" shape and started to burn. The blazing light concentrated to become scorching flames.

—The birth of a salamander.

The spirits living in Old Manhattan were the soldiers in the Army of Fire. Aiming to devour nearby heat sources for nourishment, the salamander flew towards the car that Hal and Asya were driving!

Hal raised the magic gun in his right hand, reached out the window and shot.

Bang!

Struck in the forehead, the salamander was destroyed in an instant.

However, due to this gunshot—plus the heat generated by the salamander—roughly two hundred fire elementals were created as a result. They instantly merged, giving birth to two new salamanders.

"The game of whack-a-mole begins..."

Asya floored the accelerator while murmuring in a whisper.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to call Rushalka out. Summoning a "serpent" in Old Manhattan would cause salamanders to gather in an effort to eliminate her.

The reason for leaving Orihime and Hazumi behind was out of worry for their ability to handle things without using leviathans.

It looked like Hal and Asya were going to face tough times ahead of them.

===Part 5===

After that, Hal and Asya were attacked by salamanders on six occasions within half an hour.

Despite their lizard-like appearance, they were different from Raptors and not beasts with physical form. Hovering in midair, they were flames imitating the appearance of living creatures.

Apart from that, their legs did not touch the ground even when moving at low altitude. Instead, they pounced while maintaining their hovering state.

The attacking salamanders themselves could be defeated using the magic gun. However, every time Hal did so, the fire elementals would multiply in quantity and continue to pursue Hal and Asya relentlessly.

In spite of that, the two of them still managed to arrive at the south side of Central Park.

This was a metropolitan park located in the heart of Old Manhattan. If one were to view the premises from the air, one would discover that the entire park was shaped like a neat rectangle. Four thousand meters long and eight hundred meters wide, it was quite spacious.

In the past, this used to be a beautiful public park all covered with lush greenery.

Nowadays, it was overgrown with weeds and random trees, giving off a creepy atmosphere.

"Let's switch rides first around here."

"What a waste, even though we expected it'd come to this."

Feeling the time was right, Hal made his suggestion. Asya nodded with a relaxed tone of voice.

The two of them got off the car and took with them the minimum equipment necessary, intending to abandon the vehicle here. After that, even though Asya had called it "a waste" just now, she was still the first to take out a plastic barrel and pour the contained liquid, prepared ahead of time, all over the military vehicle.

The pungent odor of gasoline could be smelled.

After keeping a safe distance, Asya used Ignition magic.

She tossed a magical fire source at the gasoline-covered car—easily igniting it with an explosion.

Sacrificing the four-wheel-drive military vehicle, the flames instantly erupted and started an intense blaze. Due to a newer, hotter heat source, the fire elementals all started to approach the fire.

Gathered together, the white orbs of light undoubtedly numbered over a thousand.

Initially resembling St. Elmo's fire, it later reached a ridiculous quantity like foxfire. From the great number of spirits, six salamanders were born.

"Next, let's see how long this bonfire can last!"

"Buying twenty minutes or so would be enough. Make it quick, Haruomi!"

Hal and Asya mounted their respective motorbikes.

These were small motorbikes with engine displacements of 50cc. The entire vehicle was only 140cm long, stood no taller than Hal's waist, and weighed less than 70kg. In addition, they could also be folded up.

At such a size, they could be transported by car.

Hence, these two motorbikes had been stowed in the backseat space in the large military vehicle on the way here.

Hal and Asya instantly started up their motorbikes and sped away.

From the south side of Central Park to Upper East Side was a trip requiring roughly half an hour.

Prior to becoming a concession territory, this area was part of a quiet residential neighborhood, but there were almost no detached homes. The majority of residences consisted of condos and apartments.

Hal and Asya's target was an old building made of brick.

It was a location that had been called the SAURU New York branch until twenty years ago.

However, Asya frowned when she arrived in front of the destination. She had probably noticed the unusual atmosphere exuding from the former New York branch building.

Hal noticed it too. Activating magical sight, he tried to scrutinize the building as a whole.

Powerful spiritual energies were coming from the entire building.

No—It would be better to call it miasma. Simply standing near the building, there as a faintly nauseating feeling. It felt as though crying and screaming sounds were coming from underground. Despite the sunny August day, it felt chilling.

Hal deployed imperishable protection around Asya and himself.

The pearly radiance formed an appropriately sized sphere to surround the two of them. The nausea, unpleasant ringing in their ears, and horrible chill all subsided instantly.

"This street itself is a gathering place for bad spirits."

Hal shrugged.

"Since magic-related facilities easily attract those kinds of things—a SAURU branch would naturally become a top paranormal spot."

"Although there's the option of entering and searching inside for a mystery house-like adventure game, I'd rather make it quick right now."

Asya whispered while looking around from time to time.

Until just now, there were no signs of fire elementals visible in this area. But by the time they noticed, a large number of white orbs of light had appeared like fireflies gathering at the edge of water.

Furthermore, a salamander had also shown up on the corner of the opposite street in search for prey.

"...Time to cut corners, right?"

"...It's not every day that I get my hands on a new weapon, after all. Twenty seconds should be enough to deal with it."

While the two of them were conversing in whispers, the salamander at the corner was also approaching.

Then another one appeared behind it. At the same time, three newborn salamanders also arrived at the scene from overhead in low-altitude flight, looking like they were going to attack humans on the ground any moment.

However, imperishable protection was currently defending the two of them.

Their defense was flawless. Hal nodded to his childhood friend.

"O ancient divine seal of purity! Send the transient blue wyvern to my side!" Asya chanted a song of summoning sonorously.

The blue wyvern materialized before the two of them, but at half the size compared to normal, roughly on the same scale as a Raptor or a salamander. Asya must have deliberately made adjustments.

To keep her promise of "twenty seconds," she sought speed and agility.

Hal and issued orders instantly.

"I'm entrusting the queen's power to you too. End it in one go!"

Rushalka's body became equipped with Queen Form armor with mechanical arms to serve as forelimbs.

In addition, there was a change in the magic gun held in Hal's hand—under the barrel with the silencer attached. A bayonet appeared. At the same time, an c appeared in Rushalka's right hand while a kodachi appeared in her left.

The two swords, one big and one small, had slightly curved blades, shaped similar to Japanese swords.

The Rune of the Twin Katana also surfaced on Hal's right palm and the back of Asya's left hand at the same time.

"Rushalka!"

Preparations were already complete so all there was left to do was attack. Asya yelled, "Use the Rune of the Twin Katana with pseudo-divinity—Turning Spirits!"

The two swords wielded by Rushalka glowed with blue radiance.

Bathed in this light, the gathering salamanders (increased to fifteen already) all stopped moving, rendered frozen. This was sacred light of a binding curse.

Simply exposure to the radiance of the dual swords rendered malevolent spirits immobile—

The instant the binding curse activated, Rushalka also made her move.

Weaving, jumping, flying between fifteen salamanders, she engaged in high-speed movement in all directions. Naturally, she did not neglect to swung her two swords. Every time Rushalka passed by a salamander, she would slash using both the ōdachi in her right and the kodachi in her left, slicing her prey into two.

Within ten-odd seconds, a dragon-like silhouette turned in to blue lightning on a raging rampage.

The final result was the total annihilation of the fifteen salamanders. Obtaining overwhelming victory through instant kills, Rushalka then raised the ōdachi towards the upright building before her—and brought it down, slicing the former New York branch's wall.

One flash. A second flash. A cross-shaped mark was carved upon the wall.

In that instant, the miasma from the building where bad spirits gathered was swept cleanly away.

The magical power of the pair of sacred swords purified this land.

"Rushalka, that's good enough. Dematerialize!"

Asya proceeded to give orders. Along with the two swords, the blue wyvern vanished.

What attracted evil spirits in Old Manhattan and fire elementals was not only heat but also the spiritual energy of a leviathan. To aovid unnecessary risk, it was essential to end the fight and the summoning in the shortest time possible—This was a job that only the master magi, Asya, could accomplish.

Not only that, Asya was always able to remain calm and composed after a battle, no matter how astounding the combat power she displayed.

(Clearly so confident every time yet so perfect and flawless.)

Hal did not speak out, simply keeping his impressed comment to himself.

Next, he checked his watch. In fact, he had pressed the timer the instant the summoning started. He was only able to do this calmly due to his trust in his childhood friend and Rushalka.

However, Hal cocked his head—Twenty-three seconds. The promised twenty seconds had been slightly exceeded.

For Asya to break a promise regarding battle, one could say this kind of case had never happened before—

"Whatever, it's still within uncertainty, I guess."

Hal shrugged and decided not to bring this up for now.

The search of the former New York branch ended quickly.

Just as heard beforehand, the target item was placed on a table in the underground book depository.

It was the book that Auntie Yulia and Hal's father had acquired at one point in their youth, twenty years ago. Discovered together with the flint, it was a grimoire personally written by the great mage Solomon.

The book title on the cover, written in Greek—''The Posthumous Writings of Progenitor Solomon''.

In modern categorization terms, it would be bigger than A3 size with the book spread open. Thickness was rougly the size of Hal's palm. The internal pages were made of parchment.

Using a cloth to wrap up the heavy ancient text, Hal stored it properly in his backpack.

Although numerous ancient books were lying dormant in this underground library, time was of the essence. Hence, Hal and Asya made the decision to ignore these books. The two of them exited the library successively and climbed up the staircase.

This room was built deep underground. The antiquated building did not have an elevator.

The two of them could only walk diligently, one step at a time, up the staircase.

The scorching summer heat in the outdoors seemed like a lie. Whether the underground library or these stairs, both were quite cool in temperature.

"Despite its rundown state, it's still a SAURU facility after all," Hal commented poignantly.

"Even though there's clearly no air-conditioning, it doesn't feel humid at all. What an ideal place for storage."

"Since what damages books are humidity, bugs and light... Perhaps the excellent storage environment was preserved only after the electricity was cut and because the building itself is very old."

"After all, it's only in the last half a century that air-conditioning became widespread."

Asya and Hal nodded at each other.

Back in the beginning, they had decided to retrieve the target even if it meant taking a risk, only because they had heard that it was kept in an underground library specialized for ancient texts. Even though the part of the building above ground was blown away along with the salamanders, there was a very high chance that the books kept underground would remain intact.

Finally, they reached the ground floor. After walking out the building, Hal and Asya took a deep breath.

The current time was just after 2pm. They should be able to get back to Brooklyn before sunset.

However—

An unexpected character appeared before Hal's eyes, causing him to gasp and instantly summon his magic gun.

Next to Hal, Asya put on a stance too to enter combat mode. In addition, residing within the magic gun, Hinokagutsuchi went "oh?", making a sound for the first time today.

Under everyone's scrutiny, the ''problematic character'' raised his right hand lightly and said, "Hello."

An extremely casual greeting. Even a friendly smile surfaced on his face.

If this person was truly whom Hal thought him to be... Instead of raising his gun to aim, Hal used inquiry instead, throwing questions at him.

"...Which newspaper do you usually read? ''The New York Times''? Or the ''Wall Street Journal''?"

"Both. I also read ''USA Today'', just not every day."

The tall red-haired man in the red jacket laughed.

Putting aside the streets of the Upper East Side that had turned into a wasteland, it looked like he was quite familiar with human cities. All things considered, he claimed that he often browsed through three major American newspapers.

"Although it's a bit lowbrow, the NY Daily News is not bad too."

The man's word took Hal aback for a moment. Never expecting the guy to read even tabloids, Hal said with exasperation, "Is this how you studied humans and found out about the governor's election?"

"Studied... Not quite. I simply wander the streets in search for fun, thus coming across all kinds of experiences. Oh right, that reminds me—"

The tall red-haired man continued mischievously.

"My favorite order at the cafe I frequent consists of an espresso, toasted whole-grain wheat bread, with an egg, sunny side up. Add some crispy bacon on top and that's even better."

"I-Isn't this a lifestyle with higher food standards than mine?"

While Hal was feeling drained by the unexpected admission, Hinokagutsuchi materialized next to him.

Dressed in a scarlet kimono, the young girl smiled malevolently and said to the brawny man in the red jacket, "Still the same as always, Flame Emperor."

"Just call me Hannibal, queen. Actually, I quite like this name."

Finally—The tall man introduced his name.

Red Hannibal. The ruler of the Old Manhattan Concession. Hal could not help but sigh.

Naturally, someone who could strut around fearlessly in the concession territory would not be any ordinary character. Although Hal had guessed that it could be Hannibal's transformation—He would rather himself be wrong!

"...This is my third time meeting a dragon taking human form."

Asya said with nervousness on her face. As a master mage, she had lived many years painfully aware of how terrifying elites and dragon kings could be. Compared to non-combat personnel like Hal, her impressions must be far more poignant.

Meanwhile, Hannibal smiled candidly at the human witch.

"Even for those with knowledge of how to transform, the majority of my kind will not put it into practice. On this aspect, hmm, I am not very particular. I want to be free to go where I want to go and meet whom I want to meet. Hence, on this occasion too—"

The red dragon king looked delightfully at Hal's face.

"I came to have a look because I sensed the nostalgic presence of the twin katana cross star. And the result? Not only do I get to meet the long deceased Crimson Queen again but also the Tyrannos to whom she had entrusted the Bow. Hohohoho, I never thought you would even gain hold of the Twin Katana too..."

"In order to make up for the absolute disadvantage in strength, I have to increase the number of weapons, at least. That's all." Hal shrugged.

"However, it looks like the truly powerful dragons don't think about such stuff."

"Indeed. For a dragon king in possession of sufficient valor, one style of dragonslaying is enough. By the way, using quantity to make up for lack of strength, that is quite an interesting idea."

Narrowing his eyes as though looking at an exotic toy, Hannibal spoke.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow. You ought to know that I am currently making preparations for the governor's election. If it is agreeable with you, I hope you could lend your aid to those humans."

"Shouldn't you ask me to apply pressure instead of lending aid in this kind of situation?"

"On the contrary. I specifically instigated this incident for the sake of enjoying the truth of 'democracy.'"

The smile on Hannibal's face changed in nature.

The brawny man with the friendly expression naturally turned into a bold warrior.

"If possible, the more obstacles the better. That is how I can fully enjoy myself."

"......"

The so-called elite dragons were hot-blooded battle maniacs for the most part.

However, standing at the summit of dragonkind, Hannibal seemed to stand out differently. Or perhaps ultimately, his true nature still did not escape the norms of dragonkind?

Regardless of the truth, Hal had no room to make a choice.

"Well, since I'm busy with my own trials and career plans, even if you hadn't asked, in the end, it'd probably turn into a situation where I must assist those involved with New York State."

When Hal spoke with a sigh, Hannibal nodded with satisfaction.

...After that, the red dragon king saw Hal and Asya off with a smile while they departed. All the way till Brooklyn, no fire elemental attacked them again.

Presumably, Hannibal had intentionally arranged it that way to allow Hal safe passage.

If possible, Hal really wanted to return to Tokyo New Town directly and ignore the various troubles in New York State—But most likely, things were not going to go his way.

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| Back to [[Leviathan:Volume_5_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Leviathan of the Covenant#Volume_5_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
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User talk:Zzhk

2016-04-13T02:11:05Z

AndroidSLC50: /* Meiyaku no Leviathan */

==Recent==

===General===

could you please translate tasogare iro no uta tsukai.its a great ln but unfortunately the translators are missing since october last year.

:Sorry to disappoint you all, but I'm currently not taking any project suggestions. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 18:40, 10 April 2013 (CDT)

Hi, thanks for translating blade dance. I would like to ask a favour, on the shinmai maou Feedback forum some one posted a Chinese --> English translation of the V3 prologue, could you give feedback on how well it was translated? [[User:Lifeman120|Lifeman120]] ([[User talk:lifeman120|talk]]) 03/25/2015

:Sorry, checking someone else's translation is even more work than translating it yourself and I don't have the time for that. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:07, 23 April 2015 (CDT)

Hi, Timo here. I didn't know about this until your edit, but all the OreShura Chinese translations are done by SPP? All the old chapters are credited to RenLeiPi ._. --[[User:Timo|Timo]] ([[User talk:Timo|Timo]])

:Take Volume 8 for example:
台版转自轻之国度
扫图：任雷劈
录入：任雷劈

:"台版" means that it was taken from the official Taiwanese publisher's version. "录入" is also a telltale sign that the text was transcribed/OCR'd from the Chinese book rather than fan translated. Fan translations would be marked as "网译版" instead (which is what you see for Volume 9). Oreshura does have fan translations, but the way Wenku does things is that they replace fan translations with official translations as soon as the latter becomes available. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 13:59, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

Hi zzhk I want to ask if you are going to pick up translating Campione again and posting somewhere other than BT. I'm addicted to the LN but can't really learn a new language due to studies. It's just a question so I hope you don't feel too obliged but I'm hoping you would.
:There is no picking up to speak of if the author isn't releasing any new volumes. His current focus seems to be on his newest series, Chronicle Legion, of which 4 volumes have been released with the 5th coming April. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 23:03, 9 March 2016 (UTC)

===Meiyaku no Leviathan===
Thank you for translating Leviathan of the Covenant. I hope you won't abandon it.
Just wanted to add a line to thank you for your translations, I really appreciate it.

'''Editing'''

I was just wondering if you're interested in having an editor for Leviathan of the Covenant ( 盟約のリヴァイアサン ) ?
-[[User:Hendricksen-sama|Hendricksen-sama]]

:Feel free to edit and if your contributions turn out to be beneficial, your name will be added automatically to the editor's list. But no, I'm not particularly looking for editors. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:07, 23 April 2015 (CDT)

I was thinking of joining the editing team for this series if it interests me, chances are it will since I tend to like the LN's you translate. Just wanted to let you know before hand since you're suppose to get permission and all before joining a project. [[User:DarkeKyuubi|DarkeKyuubi]] ([[User talk:DarkeKyuubi|talk]]) 22:24, 1 June 2015 (CDT)

Hi there. My username is shadowmaster850 and I was looking at the Leviathan of the Covenant Light novel and saw that there were no editors. So would it be possible to help out?--[[User:Shadowmaster850|Shadowmaster850]] ([[User talk:Shadowmaster850|talk]])‎

In the following line of Leviathan v2c3, it felt as though it might have been intended to be "without the slightest scratch"? --[[User:Cthaeh|Cthaeh]] ([[User talk:Cthaeh|talk]]) 22:51, 16 August 2015 (UTC)
:-"However, the silver-white dragon scales remained lustrous and dazzling, with the slightest scratch on them..."

:Thanks, you're right, should be "without." Looks like a typo there. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 05:42, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

===Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance===

Hello. I'm interested in editing for this series? As I was reading, I happened to stumble across some minor errors, and in some places, I feel the sentence fluency could be improved. I'll make small edits and won't change the form of the sentence. May I have permission to edit? [[User:Ruby Halo|Ruby Halo]] ([[User talk:Ruby Halo|talk]]) 09:08, 12 May 2015 (CDT)

:You should probably coordinate with Cthaeh because he is editing the series as a whole and already has many edits lined up to be applied. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 10:17, 12 May 2015 (CDT)

Hello, I am a big fan of this series and has been admiring your works since day one. But I am wondering whether or not you are planning to translate Volume 14's Author's Afterword so that I can soon make a PDF for this volume. Thank you very much for your effort and your time. 05:57, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

:I translated from Chinese fan translations, which have not released the complete afterword yet, so that'll have to wait for now. It's up to you whether you want to make a PDF without author's afterword or not. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 05:25, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

I was just wondering, but is the Volume 15 Epilogue missing for Seirei Tsukai? --[[User:TheSlyGuy|TheSlyGuy]] ([[User talk:TheSlyGuy#top|talk]]) 19:10 21/03/2016 (UTC)

:What makes you think that every volume has to have an epilogue or that translators would be stupid enough to omit an entire epilogue by accident? Or would you like to ask why Volume 1 has no prologue? And clearly, there is no epilogue listed in the [https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:STnBD_V15_TOC.jpg table of contents] --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 08:24, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

==Archives==

===General===
Hi there. I'd like to thank you for translating things here, I appreciate it. -IndexArcanum

Hey zzhk! Really wanted to thank you for the Campione! translations and the DxD summaries. Keep it up and have fun! [[User:Kira0802|Kira]] ([[User_talk:Kira0802|Talk]]) 05:24, 19 April 2012 (CDT)

Yo Zzhk thank for translating Highschool DxD and Campione!, hopefully after completing of vol6 of Campione! you would do vols 3 and 4 :)

I am a new member to this and I hope I can help in translating. My first language is Chinese and then English. I am not really used to this so I hope you can teach me and allow me to help as I believe you are used to this. I hope to translate Campione! as it is one of my favourite novel. Thank you~ Cheers~ Kanziel~

Welcome to Baka-Tsuki! It's always great to have enthusiastic new translators. Anyway, please read my response on Kadi's talk page.-[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 08:14, 1 October 2012 (CDT)

Hello, Kanziel again. Sorry to bother you again but I am very new to all these so I hope you can introduce me to some old members (especially Chinese and English translators) who can teach me, and recommend me to Chinese-English projects. Thank you. Cheers~ Kanziel~

You should contact [[User:Kira0802|Kira0802]] who is a nice and friendly guy who also translates from Chinese, reads tons of novels, and has involved himself with many projects. He's also very willing to help others edit and proofread their work. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 09:52, 1 October 2012 (CDT)

I would like to express my appreciation for your translations and at the same time give my praise for the way you handle the incorrect random edits from other users. You revert the edits and calmly explain the reasons for that. I learn a lot just from those remarks. Thank you. -[62.28.67.45] 18:52, 25 February 2013‎

I love you Zzhk :3 [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 09:40, 5 March 2013 (CST)

hey can you please tell me how to be a translator -[[User:‎Shams1996|Shams1996]] 12:12, 17 April 2013

:Go learn an additional language. Read a book you enjoy in the new language. Rewrite its contents in your original language and share it. Everybody wins. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 08:51, 17 April 2013 (CDT)

I'm here to recommend a good book I just read. It is a ln titled "Anuvis!" it deals with gods but more specifically ancient Egypt. i hope you get the time to read it. XD --[[User:SirEatALot|SirEatALot]] ([[User talk:SirEatALot|talk]]) 08:42, 15 May 2013 (CDT)

Hello zzhk. I really appreciate your hard work for translating the light novels in here. You are really fast in work and I'm really happy everytime when there is an update for the series you're working. Keep rolling!--[[User:Tandra|Tandra]] ([[User talk:Tandra|talk]]) 05:22, 28 June 2013 (CDT)

hello. i am just wondering what is a good english equivalent name of ポコ. --[[Special:Contributions/182.173.207.30|182.173.207.30]] 05:52, 27 May 2013 (CDT)

:Maybe this will help?
:コ : 個(P); 箇【こ(P); コ】 (ctr) (1) counter for articles; (2) (usu. 個) counter for military units; (3) individual; (P); ED --[[Special:Contributions/171.207.40.140|171.207.40.140]] 06:17, 27 May 2013 (CDT)

:Without any context, all I can say is that ポコ reads "Poco" or something similar to that. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 07:38, 27 May 2013 (CDT)

Thanks so much for your lightning fast translations kami sama [[User:Kirito|Kirito The Black Swordsman]] ([[User talk:Kirito|talk]]) 23:08, 9 August 2013 (CDT)

Thanks for translating! --[[User:Kai Ran|Kai Ran]] ([[User talk:Kai Ran|talk]]) 13:44, 13 August 2013 (CDT)

Hey I just wanted to share this link with you. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/possessives.htm
It's your translation so it's your decision. Grammatically both are equal. - Tasear

:‎My point is that Multipartite's edit wasn't wrong. The rule-of-thumb would be adding "'s" to singular nouns even if they end in "s" to reflect how it is pronounced. Anyway, if you pay attention, I already reworded the sentence to avoid the possessive. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:00, 18 November 2013 (CST)

that being said,if you could look at harem serie more worthy of your talent such as oda nobuna and madan no ou to vanadis-netheir Stnbd or campione can compare to the latter;i think almost everyone who read vol.1-5 must feel the same,as there is no better illustrations than oda nobuna's,but i'm off-topic again,sorry. -[78.232.53.234] 01:01, 16 March 2013 (CDT)

:hopefully zzhk sama would translate oda nobuna for his future project.. thanx for your great translation on stnbd and campione -[180.178.96.86] 01:01, 16 March 2013 (CDT)

:can you translate oda nobuna for us after you done with stnbd... plis i beg you sincerely sir

::Sorry, I'm not really interested in the Sengoku Jidai (Warring States) setting. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 08:44, 17 March 2013 (CDT)

thanx for the reply sir zzhk if you're not interested in oda nobuna... how about if i petition for rental magica

Thank you Zzhk for your wonderful work, Well if we are talking about interest i think "hagure yuusha no estetica" might be a good choice because it has every component of LN sir Zzhk had worked on so far.

by any chance sir zzhk, do you interested with mahouka kouko no rettousei??

Well dear sir, since you're probably prioritizing C3 and other projects, I would like you to consider Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi to translate in the near future, well it's good *shrugs* but it's up to you. Thanks either way if you think it or not.

Just wondering if you'd consider picking up Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi or Tsurugi no Joou to Rakuin no Ko as another project since i love your work. We get quality releases and it is in a relatively suitable time period as well compared to some other translators.

hi...first of all i want to thak yo for all of your translation, like for campione, cxcxc, silver cross, for me and other that dont read moon rune it a godsend to be able LN...anyway....may i suggest a LN to pick up? since you like campione, i wonder if you also like strike the blood since its pretty similar, i have watched the anime, its quite good, even though many said many thing have been butchered from the anime...thx...please consider it...

Zzhk if you consider take project again can you try and give some love translate Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden ,which already completed and you can translate in your own pace,hope you consider Hyouketsu. [[User:Yasew|Yasew]] ([[User talk:Yasew|talk]]) 22:35, 03 Mei 2014 (CDT)

First off, thanks for the TL's of STnBD and Campione. I enjoy both. Once you finish your current projects, and if you are thinking of taking on a new project afterwards, please consider Hataraku Maou-sama or Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden. --[[User:AnimeFan9001|AnimeFan9001]] ([[User talk:AnimeFan9001|talk]]) 22:51, 14 May 2014 (CDT)

hi man thx for the amazing translations "There's really not much to say. I hope my work speaks for itself." yeah you can bet it does, hope you are enjoyng your vacations (im guessing you are because you are kinda MIA and in your page there is none "in preogress") anyway, hope you reintegrate after a good rest and finish C3 so i can read it complete (i actually havent read it, didnt really thinks it is going to be interesting but since you are translating it, it should be worth)
P.D. sorry for the bad english -.- still learning --[[User:renextronex|renextronex]] ([[User talk:renextronex|talk]]) 05/22/2014

a lot for september eh? what will you do first? [[User:renextronex|renextronex]] ([[User talk:renextronex|talk]]) 08/12/2014

Hi! Thank you so much for the amazing translations. I know you don't take suggestions, but I'll give one anyways in hope your attitude has changed in the last year. Try reading Mokushiroku Arisu. Even if you don't decide to help translate it, the plot should be an extremely enjoyable read. [[User:Futon Lord|Futon Lord]] ([[User talk:Futon Lord|talk]]) 10/5/2014

===Campione!===
Thanks a lot for translating ''Campione!''. It's a very interesting series and I have a lot of fun reading it. --[[User:MaerisCrisis|MaerisCrisis]] 10:10, 30 April 2012 (CDT)

Good job on volume 2, hope to be able to cooperate with you on more volumes haha, anyway your english is good, as far as i can tell there is little for us editors to fix.[[User:Fallen3dge|Fallen3dge]] 19:36, 2 May 2012 (CDT)

Hi! I really enjoy Campione. Thank you for the fast translation! [[User:Xenocross|Xenocross]] 20:52, 2 May 2012 (CDT)
Hey there i '''Zzhk''' was just wondering if you could give me a summary on the series and if its anything similar to "High School DxD"? --[[User:Angels Requiem|Angels Requiem]] 15:45, 3 May 2012 (CDT)

:Well, it's a harem-like story with a mixed mythological setting plus a protagonist who isn't useless. There is an overview on the main page, and I suggest just reading the first two translated volumes to see if you like the feel. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 21:48, 3 May 2012 (CDT)

Thank you for your efforts on translating Campione.. I really enjoy it... :)

Thanks for the hard work on Campione! Any chance of vol 6? :P [[Special:Contributions/218.186.17.241|218.186.17.241]] 22:29, 12 May 2012 (CDT)

:Eventually, probably... --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 21:17, 13 May 2012 (CDT)

+1 to the list of people who appreciate your work. Thanks for the efforts. --[[User:Lighthalzen|Lighthalzen]] 03:27, 28 June 2012 (CDT)

Awesome man! I hope you do Volume 6 too. Thanks for the hard work!

Thank you again for your translations on Campione. Any chance on going back and doing the missing parts for Vol 4?.. thanks

:Well, Volume 4 is already summarized on jCafe by Kadi so it's not really a priority. I'd be more inclined to do 6 and 7 first. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 09:30, 2 July 2012 (CDT)

Wow thanks for Raptor form speed in translating volume 5. And I'm happy that you register vol6. [[User:Xenocross|Xenocross]] 09:42, 2 July 2012 (CDT)

Thank you for your speed translations on Campione!. I hope you will keep translating it ^^--[[User:LSwRl|LSwRl]] 16:56, 23 July 2012 (CDT)

THANKS A LOOOOT You are my hero! You, [8th King]-sama !!! PLease finish this 4 ASAP, then please do Vol 6 like blitzkrieg wirting!! I am deeply attached for these series! [[User:Sylkud]] 12:13, 25 Jul

:vol.4 is being translated by florza. And, don't rush the translator. --[[User:Rock96|Rock96]] 11:54, 25 July 2012 (CDT)

Thank you very much for translations I really enjoy them KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

Hi zzhk! Thank you for your Campione translations. Thanks for your hard work! I made an account just to say, thanks. Also, Great job on v7 ch 5 part 4. Your translations make my days. Thanks always for quick and great translations. Mokata

Thank you. Appreciate the help. Cheers~ Kanziel~ [[User:Kanziel|Kanziel]]

Hi zzhk, I remember you sent a message to me a few weeks ago about doing the Luo Hao sections for Vol 12 (Ch.5 part 2,3 I believe) and I just wanted to send a reminder and confirm that this is still the case so we avoid any repeat translations. If you do change your mind please let me know.[[User:Thatsjustpeachy|Thatsjustpeachy]] ([[User talk:Thatsjustpeachy|talk]]) 02:39, 9 October 2012 (CDT)

:Do you need the parts to continue? How do you want me to send them to you? --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 03:15, 9 October 2012 (CDT)

::I don't need the translated parts to continue since I'm going to translate around it and just read through the parts you are translating in Chinese. You can translate them whenever you have the time since I'm not releasing the volume till everything is caught up so there is a lot of time. When you are done you can send your part to me through email and just send me a message through Animesuki or if you see me on irc to let me know you have done so. I assume that since I'm uploading the majority at once this will be more convenient. Let me know if this is ok with you.[[User:Thatsjustpeachy|Thatsjustpeachy]] ([[User talk:Thatsjustpeachy|talk]]) 03:55, 9 October 2012 (CDT)

:::Sure, no problem, I'll email you. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 05:01, 9 October 2012 (CDT)

Thanks for the fast translations of Campione. [[User:Bilagaana|Bilagaana]] ([[User talk:Bilagaana|talk]]) 00:53, 22 October 2012 (CDT)

Thanks zzhk for your speedy translations. I just now read 1st part and here you are updating the 2nd one. :D --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 22:55, 16 November 2012 (CST)

Good day sir, many thanks for your work. Did you take over vol 8 chap 2 from Kadi? ~([[User talk:Ghost|talk]]) 7:27, 03 December 2012 (GMT + 8)

Zzhk banzai!!

Hi Zzhk, curious what you are planning to do once you finish vol 13? Got a new project lined up? :) Thanks again for all the translations you have done. --[[User:Bilagaana|Bilagaana]] ([[User talk:Bilagaana|talk]]) 12:47, 2 January 2013 (CST)

:Who knows? We'll see. Thank you for reading. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:09, 2 January 2013 (CST)

First off i would like to say thanks so much for your translations on Campione, such consistent updates at that, you have been awesome :D, i was wondering though that since it seems thatsjustpeachy won't translate volume 12, will you pick it up instead? --[[User:Black Swordsman825|Black Swordsman825]] 23:38, 4 January 2013 (CDT)

:I'm sure it's a joke, so just be patient. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:24, 4 January 2013 (CST)

Thanks a lot for translating Campione, your translations are of pretty high quality, and i also got a question for you. While i was reading Campione i noticed that Godou is called Godoh by his cousin Koidzuki Sakura, is that translators own interpretation or is it Sakura's own accent? --[[User:Silver Horn|Silver Horn]] ([[User talk:Silver Horn|talk]]) 16:23, 16 January 2013 (CST)

:Certain characters such as Annie Charlton, Pandora and Sakura's speech uses katakana instead of kanji for Godou's name. In other works, katakana is sometimes used when a foreigner speaks to emphasize their accent, but a foreign accent shouldn't apply here since Sakura is Japanese, Pandora is a goddess and Annie is a Campione. So all we know is that their pronunciation is different, but there is no indication as to how it is different.--[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:41, 16 January 2013 (CST)

Hello Zzhk, thanks for the Campione! translations but when will you continue translating volume 13? I can't wait! - [[User:Blackie|Blackie]]

I think he will resume translation when volume 12 is finished

Check his contributions, he is translating various other LN while he waits for 12 to be finished. He recently finished C3 Vol 1. --[[User:Bilagaana|Bilagaana]] ([[User talk:Bilagaana|talk]]) 17:24, 26 January 2013 (CST)

For BR SS 01, one of the illustrations is missing, was that the case originally, or did it get misplaced?
Thanks for doing the SS. --[[User:Bilagaana|Bilagaana]] ([[User talk:Bilagaana|talk]]) 20:54, 15 January 2013 (CST)

:Ask [[User:Denormative|Denormative]]([[User talk:Denormative|talk]]), he's the one who uploaded the illustrations and created the page. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 21:10, 15 January 2013 (CST)

if i may ask,when do you intend to come back to us to finish vol.13?
remember that like for the prodigal son,we will welcome you back anytime,in spite of your repetead infidelity(STnBD and so on).
my apologies if this is no the place to ask that.

:My guess would be after Vol 12 is done. --[[User:Bilagaana|Bilagaana]] ([[User talk:Bilagaana|talk]]) 10:54, 1 March 2013 (CST)

:How do you even know if I haven't already finished V13 already? --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 11:54, 2 March 2013 (CST)

I would like to be the first one to say thats for continuing on the next volume. I love your work. --[[User:Tasear|Tasear]] ([[User talk:Tasear|talk]]) 04:35, 20 January 2014 (CST)

Hi again zzhk!!<br />
I was reading vol 14 ch 3 where I found this:
"It'd be wonderful if it were limited to that. But no, in addition to that place, even more worlds can be reached. More than anyone else,
Aisha-neesan is the most troublesome Campione among the seven."

Could 'seven' here mean that Raffaello considers Godou as not-so-explosive as compared to others, or is it 'rest of the seven', or just a typo :P ? Thanks --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 07:59, 25 June 2013 (CDT)

:It's seven because there are seven Campiones and Aisha is the most troublesome of them all. That's all there is to it. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 08:30, 25 June 2013 (CDT)

Huh... Aren't there 8. The volume name is such. *Is the question a spoiler?* --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 08:43, 25 June 2013 (CDT)

:No, Aisha is the seventh and last one known at the time that was said. The eight one mentioned in the volume name is kind of special therefore Raffaello doesn't know anything about him. You'll understand in the following chapters. [[Special:Contributions/90.32.116.51|90.32.116.51]] 11:11, 25 June 2013 (CDT)

A bit new at editing and only half-decent at grammar, browsing through while reading. Forgot that hyphens and dashes were different, I'll stick to things I know for sure. Thanks and sorry for causing some problems. [[User:Zekeinferno|Zeke]] ([[User talk:Zekeinferno|talk]]) 12:43, 8 August 2014 (CDT)

Hi, I was wondering if I could join the Campione! editing team. Thanks! [[User:Mikawa|Mikawa]] ([[User talk:Mikawa|talk]]) 19:14, 14 August 2014 (CDT)

I am translating Campione! to Brazilian Portuguese, no problem, right?
It is my first project in Baka-Tsuki, and I'm going effort to maximum<br />
PS: In Spanish translation, they put "European countries", so I thought it was right. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[[User:DarkFlameMaster|DarkFlameMaster]] ([[User talk:DarkFlameMaster|talk]]) 14:56, 29 July 2015 (GMT)

:Go ahead, but make sure you credit your source (e.g. English translation at Baka-Tsuki or whatever you're using).

:In general, projects on Baka-Tsuki in other languages are translated from the English version in the first place, so it makes zero sense to use the alternative language derivative version as a reference to "fix" its source. Of course, the safest way is to check the original Japanese source (or ask someone to help you check) rather than assume.

:I didn't translate Volume 1, but please feel free to point out anything that you don't understand or agree with.

:Good luck! --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:14, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Yo.

I am new to B-T(well not really, new to contribute)

I was wondering if I could help you in making pdf/epub or any other format of the LNs in Campione! series.

Are there any specifications and such? can i get in on the project?

- Shadow~wolf

:Not really, there is no "in on the project" per se. People simply volunteer by making [{{SERVER}}/forums/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=5221 PDFs] or [{{SERVER}}/forums/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=5004 EPUBs] and posting them in the relevant thread or [{{SERVER}}/forums/viewforum.php?f=73 forum].

:As for specifications, you can look at what other people have made in the past but you're not required to follow them. I suppose it would be basic courtesy to have a page acknowledging Baka-Tsuki and the translator(s), so that's common practice. Otherwise, it's your creation so do whatever you like.

:In any case, until a new volume of Campione! becomes available, there won't be any pressing need for PDFs, EPUBs or the like in the meantime. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 10:15, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

====Editing====
Hi, sorry about the edit for "just deserts" :p, I would like to express my thanks for your efforts to translate Campione. I wish you all the best in your future efforts at translating and of course, other stuff XD.

:Don't worry about it, it's just that if more than one person was confused enough to edit it, there must have been many more who just didn't act on it. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 17:33, 10 May 2012 (CDT)

I changed the 'impotence' in 'Anger at the circumstances taking her away from him, and anger at his own impotence.' from volume 5, chapter 6 to 'incompetence', just an fyi in case it was a TL error. --[[User:Florza|Florza]]

:It's fine, I saw it already, no objections. Impotence, incompetence, inability to do anything, powerlessness, it's all the same to me. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 01:50, 4 August 2012 (CDT)

::To most people it has a very different meaning though :P Also, '"Don't be bound by hierarchy, and devote myself to onii-sama... Yes, that's idea."' from Volume 6 Chapter 4, is it meant to be 'idea'? -- [[User:Florza|Florza]]

:::haha, you mean the sexual connotation? Anyway, would you prefer concept or principle instead of idea? --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 22:24, 4 August 2012 (CDT)

::::Yeah. I reread it once or twice thinking, 'wtf? why is Godou worried about his ED at this time? does he have ED?'. But about the 'idea' thing, I think it's a grammar thing. 'that's' doesn't go with 'idea' at least for normal speech. not sure about the original meaning though. -- [[User:Florza|Florza]]

:::::Actually, looking more closely, I see what's missing, it's just a typo. It should be "that's ''the'' idea." --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 00:17, 5 August 2012 (CDT)

Hi there. While editing I am having some confusion regarding what to keep in caps and all. For example: "king", "lord", "god", "cult lord" and such. I believe that since all of them represents some position in this world's society they should be in caps. Just as same to ours "President/Prime Minister/Minister" and such. Please suggest further on this matter. --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 16:52, 11 August 2012 (CDT)

:They should be in lower case when used as a noun, capitalized when used as a term of address. Lord and God are only capitalized for God from the Bible, so there is no need to capitalize phrases like "my lord" or "abc is a god" though "Lord XYZ" would need to be capitalized since it's a term of address. Similarly, king should only be capitalized when it is a specific title, such as "King Kusanagi." Stuff like "as a king you should blah blah blah..." or "the king jumped up and down" should not be capitalized. It does get a bit subtle with statements like "George V is one of the kings of Britain" where "kings" is being used as a general noun, versus "George V is King of Britain" where "King of Britain" is a specific title. As for "cult leader," it would follow the same pattern as for "king" though I wouldn't be opposed to capitalizing all intances of it since it's not that usual a term. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:28, 11 August 2012 (CDT)

Actually that was me who edited the terminology page. The furigana is indeed Ocelot for 'Jaguar'. - [[User:Florza|Florza]]

:Which volume did you see it? Volume 6 Page 42 is unambiguously ジャガー -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 06:10, 1 September 2012 (CDT)

::V7 Page 163. - [[User:Florza|Florza]]

:::Ah, so it's the author who changed his mind. Anyway, I'll bring it up in the Terminology thread. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 06:32, 1 September 2012 (CDT)

Sorry. Was not knowing about the original texts. But how to know that those were the original thoughts? I simply took those as a remark on Erica's strength. --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 02:43, 4 September 2012 (CDT)

:Florza uses italics, but I find it unnecessary... After all, there is no such formatting in the original text, and certain lines can be interpreted as either thoughts or third person narration because there is no explicit subject. Unless you have doubts about a translator's ability to use English pronouns properly, I'd suggest refraining from making these sorts of changes directly, and raise the issue on Talk pages instead. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:54, 4 September 2012 (CDT)

Spirit body is correct for that kanji. However, naming issues arise when connected with other kanji. - [[User:Florza|Florza]]

:Well, it's not like the combination arose by coincidence. It's highly unsatisfactory for the translation to change completely when the subject is still the same thing. Could you elaborate on what you consider to be naming issues? --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 23:35, 6 September 2012 (CDT)

::I'm sure that if you found 'God and Godslayer' to be awkward, 'spirit power of spirit body separation' would seem pretty awkward as well, right? Wait, has the term been translated in previous volumes yet? - [[User:Florza|Florza]]

:::Where does that phrase occur? In that particular case, it could be simplified to "power of spirit body separation" without much loss in meaning. "Spirit body" and its separation and detachment already appeared in Volume 6 with Princess Alice's introduction. Personally, I don't think they're actual terms per se since detachment and separation seem to be used as synonyms for the same phenomenon. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:18, 7 September 2012 (CDT)

::::Think I'll go with the horizontal stare decisis here for now. Although, as 幽体分離 and other 4 character kanjis are usually move names (Even without brackets), I feel that 'spirit body separation' is somewhat lacking. - [[User:Florza|Florza]]

Zzhk! Amazing job! Question/comment - In V7C6 Part 3, there's two things that are confusing: 1) "Then Godou proceeded to compose spell words caused strong wind to blow. The destructive gales pinned down the giant monkeys, immobilizing them." -> Is it Godou or is it Ena that is doing that? Godou at this point already appears to be using 2 incarnations and is also using some wind spell? and 2) This and the very next section also mentions 6 giant monkeys they are also fighting.. but there has been no mention of Sun Wukong summoning any monkeys at all at this point [[User:Wilhelmson|Wilhelmson]] ([[User talk:Wilhelmson|talk]]) 16:17, 10 September 2012 (CDT)

:On further inspection, there was a typo: mismatched comment tags which hid away a fair chunk of text. It should make a lot more sense now. Thanks for pointing it out! --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 09:51, 7 September 2012 (CDT)

Sorry, didn't know if those tense change would significantly alter the meaning. Since everything was in past tense, I couldn't tell from just reading the order of occurrence for some of the events.--[[User:Mane|Mane]] ([[User talk:Mane|talk]]) 10:41, 8 September 2012 (CDT)

I got permission to change the text aside from the tenses. Can I reverse your undo so I can change the tense back to past tense? I don't have a copy of my past changes to work with.--[[User:Mane|Mane]] ([[User talk:Mane|talk]]) 11:27, 8 September 2012 (CDT)

:[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Campione!%3AVolume_5_Prologue&diff=186740&oldid=174273 Here] are all your changes, highlighted. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 12:02, 8 September 2012 (CDT)

I make my ePUBs manually; the use of <nowiki><b></nowiki> rather than triple apostrophes makes it easier (for me, and maybe others) to convert the text into html/xhtml. The same would be true of double apostrophes and the <nowiki><i></nowiki> tag. I've made the mistake of equating double apostrophes with quotation marks (and then replacing all of them). I have a question about line 65 in volume 5 chapter 2. There is a line break between two sentences that appears to be spoken by the same character, and there is no quotation marks around the second "part." Could you check if there is a typo in that line?--[[User:Mane|Mane]] ([[User talk:Mane|talk]]) 07:07, 10 September 2012 (CDT)

:I allowed myself to fix it. LNs sometimes have that weird way to throw thoughts into the middle of the narrative.--[[User:Kadi|Kadi]] ([[User talk:Kadi|talk]]) 07:27, 10 September 2012 (CDT)

I think you said something about this before but forgot the answer; do you prefer the use of double dashes —— or just the one — ? Use of complete dashes looks better than -- in any case but it might be too long :S --[[User:Drowzycow|Drowzycow]] ([[User talk:Drowzycow|talk]]) 15:09, 30 September 2012 (CDT)

:Use a single em-dash (—), thanks! --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:59, 30 September 2012 (CDT)

What's the difference between a housekeeper and grand chamberlain? Since here, Liliana at one stage calls herself as later while at some place with the former term. Or is it just for the sake of a long term repeating again and again. ? --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 05:42, 18 October 2012 (CDT)

:She uses different words on different occasions. Housekeeper is actually butler(執事), but I wanted to use something more gender neutral. Grand Chamberlain is 侍従長 as noted in the Terminology page. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 05:48, 18 October 2012 (CDT)

Sorry, I did not know about "god is only capitalized when referring to the Abrahamic deity of Christianity". I thought that proper nouns were supposed to be capitalized. However, I saw that you reversed some of my other edits; I just noticed some small errors like realized, analyzing, and syncretized are spelled with a z not an s. Also, honorable, color, and a few more words had a u in the spelling that should not be there. I just wanted to help proofread and contribute to this wonderful site. Please let me know of anything else in the future. --[[Kohaku_sora]]

:Gods and goddesses are common nouns, not proper nouns. And no, miko is not a proper noun either, it's just a common noun like priestess. Hime-Miko, on the other hand, is a title. Given that I don't have time to look at every single change, I'd rather keep minor American/British spelling inconsistencies (which are not exactly errors per se) than have something blatantly incorrect. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:52, 3 February 2013 (CST)

I feel like I can't tell you enough about how grateful I am for your translations. I am certainly grateful for each section that you complete. Thank you for spending your time to do these translations. It is a honor to read your work [[User:Tasear|Tasear]]

Hello, I've seen an edit you've made recently, and I want to confirm this, so I won't make this mistake myself. In this recent edit, "Though, I kind of doubt it." is changed back to "Though I kind of doubt it." 'Though', as I've learnt, can be used either as a conjunction or an adverb. When it functions as a conjunction, it should be connected to the previous sentence with a comma, for example: "I know what you mean, though I'm skeptical of the usage"; when it functions as an adverb, a comma after 'though' should be added like any other adverb, for example: "Though, I'm skeptical of the usage" or "I'm skeptical of the usage, though", in which the latter seems more common. In your edit, I believe you want the 'though' in your sentence to function as a conjunction instead of an adverb; however, when the sentence is not connected to the previous sentence (where I see it's rather difficult to do so), it becomes a fragmented sentence. Fragments can stand in modern writings, but I believe refraining from fragments and aiming for complete sentences are what one should pursue.

To reiterate myself, I don't mean to charge into your project or translation, I just want to confirm the usage of some words, as I'm seeing a lot of mistakes in my own stuff. and I'm also trying to improve myself as well. - Pudding321

:For that particular sentence, I thought of it as a verbal afterthought that one might append to the previously spoken sentence. I suppose preceding it with a dash or ellipsis would be preferable. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 21:07, 22 February 2013 (CST)

Does Short story 6 have illustrations or not? right now it's just a word (not a link). If there no illustrations, shouldn't we get rid of it, and if there are add a link?--[[User:Saganatsu|Saganatsu]] ([[User talk:Saganatsu|talk]]) 15:00, 16 May 2013 (CDT)

:Like all the other side stories, SS6 is decorated with a few cute little drawings (repeated from other stories/volumes). As you can see from the other SS, these illustrations are quite inconsequential although people are welcome to add them in if they want to take the effort. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 18:20, 16 May 2013 (CDT)

hello! since i am currently reading the volume, I will do those minor edits. But i will not touch too much on it. If its ok with you. - [[User:Rukiabankai|Rukiabankai]] ([[User talk:Rukiabankai|talk]]) 01:32, 15 June 2013 (CDT)

"Without barely" has some Google hits, but relatively few (for comparison, "with barely" has about 100 times as many). Very few of those look like they'd be from any kind of edited text. The expression is weird given the ordinary meanings of "without" and "barely". In the Campione text, "barely stopping" seems OK since did in fact stop at the places at least briefly, for longer than if he had been simply passing through them. [[Special:Contributions/80.223.220.209|80.223.220.209]] 08:34, 14 June 2013 (CDT)

:No, Godou's point is that he never made any significant stops. Being stationary because he is doing something like waiting for a flight at the airport or crossing the street would not count as stopping for a visit. The point is: He didn't make any stops. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 11:07, 14 June 2013 (CDT)

Whoops, seems like I was pretty tired when I made those 2 edits for the BR SS 3 which were wrong. Anyways, thanks for correcting them. Please do look through the rest and tell me if there is anything thing else that needs to be changed.

On that note, I noticed that volume 1 has Shizuka calling Godou "Onii-san", but your translations have it as "Brother". I think it would probably be better to standardize it across the volumes, so may I know which is the one that the translators have decided on?

Thanks. [[User:Royaloyalz|Royaloyalz]] ([[User talk:Royaloyalz|talk]]) 21:41, 15 June 2013 (CDT)

:Shizuka actually calls Godou "Onii-chan." Yeah, Volume 1 has a fair number of standardization issues because it had multiple translators, it was the first volume translated (fewer standards/conventions established), and it was translated from Chinese (so honorifics come from guesswork) with little (if any) crosschecking with the JP. I didn't start referencing the JP version until V3 so there might be some of those issues in V2 as well. Please change it to Onii-chan when Shizuka is addressing Godou.

:Since you're starting from the beginning, could you help edit all the double hyphens(--) to dashes(—)? Dashes should have no spaces before or after. The only exceptions are situations like: "Abcd xyz. —Kjlm..." where the dash follows a period, exclamation mark or question mark (which I don't think occurs very often in Campione anyway).

:Also, there's one language quirk that needs to be fixed. In eastern languages, one would often name the person you are talking to in a 3rd person manner, but that should be eliminated in English. Example: "I am surprised by Onii-chan's earnest diligence." --> "I am surprised by your earnest diligence, Onii-chan."

:Thanks! --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 22:10, 15 June 2013 (CDT)

Yup no problems, I will take those into account. However, I may miss out those 3rd person references, since I tend to like keeping stuff as "Japanese" as possible. I will try to change all those that I do take note of, but can't promise much for you here haha. --[[User:Royaloyalz|Royaloyalz]] ([[User talk:Royaloyalz|talk]]) 00:27, 16 June 2013 (CDT)

Just wondering--> Vol. 16 chp. 1 still has the '''pending verification''' note stuck to it in the registration page, so I was wondering if it still hasn't been verified yet..--[[User:Npeace|Npeace]] ([[User talk:Npeace|talk]]) 12:16, 11 November 2014 (CST)

:If it says it's not verified, then it isn't. Are you going to doubt whether chapters marked as complete are actually complete? --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:07, 23 April 2015 (CDT)

====Links====
In response to "someone is scared that people make mistakes when creating pages", that's not the main point. It's ''good habit'' to link everything of note.

Granted, an edit just to redlink just a single item borders on "useless". On the other hand, undoing that action is even further useless, particularly if some does end up making that page; this was the reasoning behind my first undo. -[[User:AKAAkira|Akira]] ([[User talk:AKAAkira|talk]]) 22:59, 17 May 2013 (CDT)

Yes, and undo-ing the undo is even more productive? How hard is it to create links when they are actually needed?

Link everything of note? So in your view, a project should create red links for every single chapter for every volume published, regardless of translation progress?

If links are needed, translators will create them on their own. Simple as that. Should they require assistance, they'll ask for it. Thank you very much. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 23:18, 17 May 2013 (CDT)

:Granted, undoing the undo ''was'' even less productive in terms of the work done. (Especially if it developed into a revert war.) What it ''was'' meant to do, however, was to convey my opinion: "There no point doing this undo, since the initial edit has a weak but very legitimate reason behind it, while the undo didn't". Hopefully I've had better luck there.

:The second point is subjective to every person, but yes, if it was up to me, I'd rather create red links for every single chapter. On wikis, consider that there are also the [[Special:WantedPages]] page that represents which pages are needed the most, and every red link contributes to the accuracy of that list. Of course, this doesn't apply as much to ''this'' wiki, but like I said: good habits. Besides, red links can be annoying to the eye. I tend to think that has a positive correlation with prompting people to create the page. No links are just too ignorable, in that regard.

:It's up to how you take care of your pages. My only purpose was to point out and question the more eyebrow-raising actions. -[[User:AKAAkira|Akira]] ([[User talk:AKAAkira|talk]]) 00:24, 18 May 2013 (CDT)

:EDIT: Oh I knew I forgot to say something. I saw your edits to [[User talk:Kadi]]'s page, so here's a comment that would've dissuaded me: "I don't want to." (Or something along those lines that sounds smarter than what I came up with at the moment.)

:Really, I only spoke up because I thought your reasoning was faulty. If you take it out of the realm of logic, I can't exactly argue against authority. At the very least I'd have to take it to the talk pages first, if that was the case. Not saying I would or am going to, though. -[[User:AKAAkira|Akira]] ([[User talk:AKAAkira|talk]]) 00:38, 18 May 2013 (CDT)

Thanks alot for translating vol 14.

===High School DxD===
r u still translating hs dxd?

:Yes, as stated [[User:Zzhk|on the user page]], I am currently working on Volume 9. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 21:15, 13 May 2012 (CDT)

I wanna know if you´ll continue with volume 9????

:Life.1 is done --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 08:29, 2 July 2012 (CDT)

You absolutely rule man. Thanx for Vol 9 XD

I've posted a suggestion, not sure if you've seen it. [[Talk:High School DxD:Volume 9 Life 4|Talk Page]] --[[User:KuroiHikari|KuroiHikari]] ([[User_talk:KuroiHikari|Talk]] | ) 21:23, 22 August 2012 (CDT)

:Thanks for the input. Yeah, I've read it but I think the entire paragraph needs to be restructured to make the meaning clearer. I'll think about it later. Of course, anyone is free to provide suggestions in the mean time. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 05:14, 23 August 2012 (CDT)

===CubexCursedxCurious===
Just curious, but will you be translating this novel from time to time? I'm asking because you finished Volume 1 cahpter 2 before. - Cataccountant

:Maybe. I'll see once I finish Campione V13. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:02, 26 December 2012 (CST)

Thanks for continuing the novel's translation. I've been interested in the story ever since I saw the anime. - Cataccountant

Big thx for translating C3 [[User:Castor212|Castor212]] ([[User talk:Castor212|talk]]) 11:28, 14 January 2013 (CST)

Thanks for translating Zzhk and you might want to add yourself to the [[CubexCursedxCurious:Registration_Page|registration page]]. --[[User:Bilagaana|Bilagaana]] ([[User talk:Bilagaana|talk]]) 14:21, 15 January 2013 (CST)

I take it that you're continuing C3, in that case i'll work on the raws, at the basic level for now (typesets somewhere in the future). --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk|talk]]) 09:20, 26 January 2013 (CST)

Hi man!! Thanks for translating C3 :), Good luck!

Hello Zzhk, I noticed that there are currently no editors for C3. If you wanted, I could edit any future volumes that you are planning on translating. Thanks for all the translating you do. -- [[User:Kory|Kory]] ([[User talk:Kory|talk]]) 12:54, 28 April 2013 (CDT)

:Sure, go ahead. Your edits have been appropriate so far. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 04:21, 29 April 2013 (CDT)

Nikaidou Kururi <- wasn't she "Kukuri" (she had the same name as her weapon, a kukri) --[[User:Kemm|Kemm]] ([[User talk:Kemm|talk]]) 06:16, 30 January 2014 (CST)

:It's always been Kururi (二階堂クルリ = Nikaidou Kururi). It was noted in-story that her name was ''similar'' but not identical to the word "kukri." --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 07:28, 30 January 2014 (CST)

Interested in helping as an editor for CubedxCursedxCurious. Let me know if it's ok if I can help. [[User:Crosschan|Crosschan]] 06:34, 10 June 2014 (EST)

Hi just wondering if you were ever going to finish translating it... just finished 14 and was hoping you might be willing to keep working on it.

:Unfortunately, the Chinese version published by Kadokawa Taiwan is only up to Volume 14 with no signs of V15 coming in July or August. There's nothing I can do except wait in the mean time. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 21:22, 17 July 2014 (CDT)

::Latest update: Kadokawa Taiwan will be releasing C3 V15 in September. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:59, 20 July 2014 (CDT)

Hi, I just wanted to give my thanks for all your hard work in translating this series.

:You're welcome, glad you enjoyed the series. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:28, 16 March 2015 (CDT)

Hello, just was a little curious on what was meant to be conveyed in this line in volume 16 chapter 3:
What have my creations done? What did they represent? When I became old and authority, wealth and fame were no longer useful, I finally understood.
Is he saying that after he became old, authority, wealth and fame were no longer useful? or something more along the lines of after he became old and powerful, wealth and fame were no longer useful?
I'm just gonna change it to what I think fits but can you please look it over later since you can actually translate and I'm just guessing, thanks [[User:DarkeKyuubi|DarkeKyuubi]] ([[User talk:DarkeKyuubi|talk]]) 13:44, 26 March 2015 (CDT)

Thanks for the great translation! Finally read the finale and I actually liked how it all ended. Let me know if there are any other sections you want me to edit but generally your translation quality is amazing so I'm just mostly finding typos. [[User:DarkeKyuubi|DarkeKyuubi]] ([[User talk:DarkeKyuubi|talk]]) 13:09, 27 March 2015 (CDT)

===Rollback===

Sorry, was an accident. Probably clicked on the wrong place with my iPod touch at some moment. [[User:Kira0802|Kira]] ([[User_talk:Kira0802|Talk]]) 10:58, 2 July 2012 (CDT)

:No worries. It was too strange not to have been an accident. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] 11:10, 2 July 2012 (CDT)

===Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance===
Hi zzhk. In need of your suggestion here. Restia is called more as a "Darkness spirit girl" when referred to. However, the chapter name on the main page for vol 4 ch 7 is "girl of the dark spirit" (as given by....Florza I think). The word to word meaning is "Darkness spirit girl" but since such was mentioned as a chapter name I didn't use it. Though I am more comfortable with using the "Darkness..." Any say on this? ----[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 01:57, 3 February 2013 (CST)

:The original 闇精霊の少女 basically means "the girl who is the darkness spirit." I use "darkness spirit girl" because anything longer would be too unwieldy to repeat constantly.

:"Girl of the Dark Spirit" is a very literal but ambiguous choice because it could also mean a girl belonging to the dark spirit, or a girl who possesses the dark spirit.

:I'd say modify the chapter title for sure. Though as a title, it doesn't need to be identical to what keeps repeating in the text. But definitely, "Girl of the Dark Spirit" should be changed to something clearer. Of course, you should also ask KuroiHikari for ideas too. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:45, 3 February 2013 (CST)

Do you intend to continue this series ? [[User:trung-t-rung|trung-t-rung]] 7 February 2013

:Maybe when the next Taiwanese official version comes out, which should be the end of February. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 21:14, 6 February 2013 (CST)

Damn your translating blade dance fast :D if only volume 4 was free for you as well thank you for the hard work. -[41.135.73.211] 07:48, 10 February 2013

So sorry about that.. misread that part. --[[User:Blood|Blood]] ([[User talk:Blood|talk]]) 01:44, 20 February 2013 (CST)

Just here to ask if you will be focusing on STnBD for the entirety of volume 7? I'm skipping up to 8 with that assumption, but I really want to see 7. --[[User:Mizuho|Mizuho]] ([[User talk:Mizuho|talk]]) 18:04, 21 February 2013 (CST)

:Good to know that you won't be wasting time on duplicate efforts. I intend to finish what I started, so Volume 7 should be completed some time next week. Since I'll be going away on a business trip, the final update should be posted either before Thursday or on Sunday. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 21:18, 21 February 2013 (CST)

Yay!, chapter 8 is up. Great work Zzhk. :3 [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 13:37, 2 March 2013 (CST)

Hello again, zzhk. Thank you for the latest chapter parts. I have a few doubts regarding names:

*Is it proper to write Greyworth Ciel Mais or Greyworth CielMais?
* For her, we were using Academy Director before 'then Academy Principle (not that they are different, but...)

That's all from me. Thanks --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 22:36, 8 March 2013 (CST)

:It's one word in the furigana (シエルマイス) but I guess just split it into two words according to the Terminology page.
:Yeah, go ahead and change it to Director. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:00, 9 March 2013 (CST)

Thank you for volume 9, so are you going to translate vol 10 now? Or help mizuho to translate vol 8?

:no,now he should be looking after campione vol.13,he's started but has yet to finish:of course,he's free to do as he please(perhaps will he be taking a more than deserved rest?). etheir way is fine with me:i prefer campione's girls to Stnbd's but kamito to godou,so do as you wish,Zzhk-sama.

:If mizuho gives up, sure, I'll finish off V8. Otherwise, I have no intention of displacing translators from their registered volumes.-[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 20:35, 15 March 2013 (CDT)

hey Zzhk,Thanks for v9, Are you also going to do volume 10? I mean if you are waiting for campione! volume 12 completion,I think it will take time,which will is more then enough to complete V10 with your lightning fast speed
Thanks :D

:I'll need to wait for the Chinese fan translations first. Also, it'd depend on how much of V10 Kuroi_Hikari wants to do. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 10:56, 16 March 2013 (CDT)

Thank you for registering/starting on vol 10 of STnBD zzhk

OMG, Zzhk, you, sir, are unbelievably fast, and we all truly appreciate your rapid translation speed. Thanks again. -[[User:GodAtom028|GodAtom028]]

So zzhk, are you going to take a rest or continue on campione?

Does anyone know when the 11th volume for StnBD will be released?

:No news yet, currently. -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:23, 15 April 2013 (CDT)

::Thanks a lot, but damn!! I can't freakin' wait. The tension is unbearable!! -[[User:ZAIZEAH|ZAIZEAH]] 14:51, 18 April 2013

Btw, What does it mean by: "April 17, 2013: Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance Project is caught up"?
:Translations are caught up to published volumes. Isn't that obvious? -[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 05:18, 19 April 2013 (CDT)
I guessed that possibility but I just wanted to confirm, I'm rather bad at at guessing things so I wanted to be sure.

Any news yet? --[[User:ZAIZEAH|ZAIZEAH]]

:According to the publisher's site, Volume 11 of Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance is set to be released on June 25, 2013. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:56, 5 May 2013 (CDT)

As always thank you for your continued blazing fast translating :). [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 12:40, 8 August 2013 (CDT)

Hi. I am interested in working on an English-to-Vietnamese translation of Seirei and I am currently working on the 7th chapter of vol 1 plus making some changes to the Vietnamese page of the project. Since the previous translator quitted for over 16 months, may I reformat the main page to remove a lot of content that seem to be out of place now? And how do I protect a page? Thank you in advance. --[[User:Doomlord|Doomlord]] ([[User talk:Doomlord#top|talk]])

Reformat the main page of the Vietnamese version? Go ahead, it's a wiki after all. Protection can only be set by wiki supervisors. What level of protection do you need and for which page(s)? --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 09:26, 17 July 2013 (CDT)

:Alright thanks. Could you tell me what are the levels of protection? I need some insight first. I am editing the main page right now and I think I will need to get it protected once I am done. --[[User:Doomlord|Doomlord]] ([[User talk:Doomlord|talk]]) 07:03, 18 July 2013 (CDT)

:[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] finished implementing the protection for me so I guess you won't need to do it anymore. Thanks anyways :) --[[User:Doomlord|Doomlord]] ([[User talk:Doomlord|talk]]) 07:36, 18 July 2013 (CDT)

Just want to say, thanks for the blazing fast translation of volume 12! Really appreciate your work!

Thanks for Translating this Series. Will you also be translating the latest Side Story of this series? [[User:Navazishmh|Navazishmh]] ([[User talk:Navazishmh|talk]]) 06:23, 2 January 2014 (CST)

:You mean the special bonus story that accompanied the Taiwanese version of Volume 11? Maybe, but not with any urgency. It's just a really short story about Kamito, Claire and Est making a quick visit to real world Taipei, probably meant as a tribute to fans from Taiwan. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 04:40, 5 January 2014 (CST)

::Actually, someone did it [http://www.facebook.com/notes/raphael-tan/taipei-city-no-blade-dance-seirei-tsukai-no-blade-dance-special-edition-/722511574435143 on Facebook already] --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:16, 7 February 2014 (CST)

Hello there, just wondering is Claire elemental waffe Flame Blaze or Hell Blaze? Because in Volume 1 Chapter 6 Part 2 there is mentioned of Flame Blaze. So wanted to clarify.
At the same time as her voice, a blazing flame illuminated the night sky red.
Claire wielded Scarlet's elemental waffe — «Flame Blaze».
The flame slash mowed down all the attacking blades of the wind in an arc—

:Claire's elemental waffe is always Flametongue. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:43, 13 May 2014 (CDT)

Hy, I'm considering making a German translation for Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, so I'm asking you if you would allow it. (Cause it's mentioned in the Guidelines to ask someone from the English translation team). So, I hope that you will allow it! [[User:Firestar222|Firestar222]]

:Go ahead. I didn't translate V1-5 or V8 so I can't vouch for the accuracy of chapters marked "TLC required" but feel free to ask if any line doesn't make sense. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 04:57, 4 June 2014 (CDT)

Hi, random anon here! For translating Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, thank you very, very much!! I really appreciate it! [[Special:Contributions/128.101.168.52|128.101.168.52]] 17:08, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Sorry about putting the wrong picture on the main page for this series. I was doing it only so that there was a picture there till the proper picture was on the wiki and there for would replace it. [[User:Wolfpup|Wolfpup]] ([[User talk:Wolfpup|talk]]) 16:20, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

==== Audio Novel Project ====

(Sorry, Im not sure if this is the second time I've posted this message or the original was deleted)
First of all thanks for Translating Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance.

Second of all I am apart of the Audio Novel Projects The result of discussions between myself and some other enthusiasts in the forums, and what we aim to do is create audiobooks of translation scripts done by contributors. However, due to recent discussion, we've come to the conclusion that it is best to ask permission from the translators themselves, if their scripts can be used as Audio Novel bases, because of the section in the Translation Common Agreement that states that all translations belong to their respective translators.

Therefore, as respectfully as possible, I'd like to request permission to use your translation of Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance as a script as such.
[[User:SilentZephyr|SilentZephyr]] ([[User talk:SilentZephyr|talk]]) 09:15, 8 August 2014 (CDT)

:Sure, go ahead. Good luck! --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 09:44, 8 August 2014 (CDT)

:Thanks so much, STnBD is one of my favorite LN to read [[User:SilentZephyr|SilentZephyr]] ([[User talk:SilentZephyr|talk]]) 11:44, 8 August 2014 (CDT)

===Silver Cross and Draculea===
Thank you for begin translations on the The Silver Cross and Draculea LN. I appreciate it.
but why not translate from volume 1 chapter 3, I don't think ArchmageXin already translate it --[[User:D4rkfl4sh|D4rkfl4sh]] 00:31, 5 January 2013 (CDT)

As ArchmageXin once posted in a forum:
If any translator want to step in, I will be happy to "match" the length of how much they contribute with my own,
but otherwise, I will go on break for a few months so I can deal with other things.
I'm simply giving him some encouragement to realize the "win-win" situation he envisioned.-[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:24, 4 January 2013 (CST)

i see, sorry i don't look at the forum

Oh, didn't realize it. Will change accordingly in short time. Also, should the tense be in past or present? From what I have understood till now, there's only distinction between past and present 'form' with no reference to future for the language. And I have already done some edits which I feel are sometimes wrong when trying to change everything to present tense. Thanks --[[User:Chancs|Chancs]] ([[User talk:Chancs|talk]]) 23:06, 4 January 2013 (CST)

Hey '''Zzhk''' would you think about finishing off the last 3 chapters of volume 1 after your finished with Blade Dance? I know your buzy with other translations and life but it'd be much appreciated since that teaser is chewing at my soul :D. [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 15:36, 28 February 2013 (CST)

:I have no wish of displacing other translators in their own volumes, so probably Volume 1 really isn't a priority. Besides, as a light-hearted love comedy, you don't really need to know every single detail in Volume 1's plot. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:33, 3 March 2013 (CST)

Hi, i'm chronus79, a member of team Sonako
This series is interesting, so i thinking about translate it in to Vietnamese.
Will you give me the permission to do that?
If yes, please tell me if there are anything else that need to do besides the link back here and credit.
One more thing, how can I contact with ArchmageXin? I think I need permission for vol 1 too.[[User:Chronus79|Chronus79]] ([[User talk:Chronus79|talk]]) 03:35, 28 May 2013 (CDT)

:Sure, go ahead... Although Vol 1 has some serious lapses in accuracy on occasion, so I would recommend translating it from Japanese directly. You can contact ArchmageXin on his talk page although he might be a little busy in real life at the moment. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 09:14, 28 May 2013 (CDT)

::Thanks, but i don't know Japanese, self-studying now. I guess I will use Translate Aggregator and ORC programs for now. Hope i will able to do it someday.[[User:Chronus79|Chronus79]] ([[User talk:Chronus79|talk]]) 09:52, 28 May 2013 (CDT)

Can you summary the main content of volume 1? I think I can't read volume 2 without knowing anything.[[User:Hunter|Hunter]] ([[User talk:Hunter|talk]]) 07:21, 30 June 2013 (CDT)

:You should ask ArchmageXin to see if he wants to summarize the volume he's working on. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 19:29, 30 June 2013 (CDT)

Like chronus79, I also want to translate this LN into Vietnamese. But I can't contact him by e-mail, can you give me the permission too? [[User:Hunter|Hunter]] ([[User talk:Hunter|talk]]) 23:51, 8 July 2013 (CDT)

:It's a nice act of courtesy, but you don't really need permission to translate a fan translation. If you're really sure you want to translate ArchmageXin's work, go ahead and just acknowledge him in the credits. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 00:11, 9 July 2013 (CDT)

Since Par74583 and 203.218.214.15 seem to have taken over the translation of chapters 2 and 3 of volume 1, ArchmageXin has stepped back. Do you plan to do chapters 4 and 6 in his stead?--[[User:Kemm|Kemm]] ([[User talk:Kemm|talk]]) 14:18, 19 July 2013 (CDT)

:Since no one has registered those chapters anyway, I'll just let people do whatever they want. I expect Par74583 will probably continue onto Chapter 4. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 18:41, 19 July 2013 (CDT)

BTW sir will you continue to translate volume 4 of this series??

:Probably, but the Chinese fan translations aren't out yet. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 02:28, 15 August 2013 (CDT)

Yay, new chapter. Glad to see that you are still translating this series. Thanks for the hard work!

I just wanted to say thanks for the recent release of silver cross. I enjoyed reading it and appreciate the work you put in to making it possible for all of us without your skill. --mathes

If viable, I want to request authorization for taking over the translations for the 5th Volume. --[[User:Kouen no Ten|Kouen no Ten]]

:Sure, go ahead, but if you intend to do the whole volume, I suggest posting the chapters in order rather than the ending first. In fact, since the Chinese fan translation does take a while (typically 2-4 weeks per chapter), I don't mind if you take over Volume 4 from Chapter 4. By the way, you can sign with a timestamp by typing <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> (4 tildes). --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 16:48, 23 November 2013 (CST)

::Thank you very much, and yes, I will keep that in mind. I am going to be working on Strike The Blood too, so I'll be working on them simultaneously, one chapter of Strike The Blood followed by one of Silver Cross and Draculea. Just figured out that wiki actucaly has a tool for this ^_^ --[[User:Kouen no Ten|Kouen no Ten]] ([[User talk:Kouen no Ten|talk]]) 23:13, 23 November 2013 (CST)

Thank you for your work on this light novel. You shall be missed. [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 13:16, 25 November 2013 (CST)

:There's really nothing to miss. Since [[User:Kouen no Ten|Kouen no Ten]] is translating directly from Japanese, look forward to the Silver Cross series getting wrapped up soon. Waiting for the Chinese version to finish would probably take until April next year. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 17:02, 25 November 2013 (CST)

Hello...first i want to say thanks for all your translation in this and other LN like cube, campione....sorry if i upset you, i just want to ask, will you translate the final volume? Since kouen seems to be angry about mageslayer take over the work without notifying him, and mageslayer doesnt seem to have any intention to translate vol 5 ( no registration, no words)..thx....once again, sorry if i upset you with this question....

:There's no Chinese version out yet, so I have nothing to translate even if I wanted to do Volume 5. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 06:34, 2 February 2014 (CST)

Zzhk do u know who is trasnlating the 5th volume? I'm waiting the 2nd Cap for a while but isn't out... the cinese version is out maybe ?
[[User:FaintSmile|FaintSmile]] 20:24, 26 April 2014

:Nope, the Chinese fan translator announced a temporary hiatus back in February, promising new updates every 2 months from then on, but there's nothing so far. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 20:30, 27 April 2014 (CDT)

So last thing, do you know who have translate the Vol5 Cap1 and ask him if he intends to continue? in case do you know someone who can translate it? so few chapters to the end.... T_T [[User:FaintSmile|FaintSmile]] 14:00, 6 May 2014

Hey Zzhk, out of curiousity, say that the Chinese translations for volume 5 are released, would you consider translating volume 5? Cheers. --[[User:Aurst|Aurst]] ([[User talk:Aurst|talk]]) 21:05, 10 May 2014 (CDT)

:Sure, if no else does it. --[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 21:34, 10 May 2014 (CDT)

Hello, I'm from Vietnamese translation team of this project ( although I haven't release any chapter yet :) ). I now have color illustrations of volume 1 and 2 redrawed, so can you translate the sentences on those page ( pls note it from which chapter if you don't mind )? I will type them, and if you want to use other font, pls send me then I will fix it! Here is the example https://www.dropbox.com/s/3i1vht62gtwciu5/SCaD2.JPG --[[User:Hunter|Hunter]] ([[User talk:Hunter|talk]]) 01:46, 26 May 2014 (CDT)

:Feel free to upload a separate Vietnamese version (using a different filename), but don't replace the original. I don't think it's that important for text in images to be translated into English, and it's helpful for other languages to have the original source intact.

:I didn't translate Volume 1 so I'm not going to hunt down whatever variant someone used. Anyway, for [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:Draculea_v01_003-004.jpeg this one], going from left to right:

Kariya Eruru: "Please watch your tone of voice. Given your stupidity, it is hard to believe that you and I are of similar age."

Rushella Dahm Draculea: "If you'll agree to offer yourself to me, I promise to guarantee the safety of those around you. What do you say?"

Sudou Mei: "Do know that I fell in love with you at first sight. You should feel honored❤"

:Volume 2 illustration[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:Draculea_V02_-_Color_02.jpg]:

???: "Vampire and your ilk, scram and begone from this school." (Chapter 6)

--[[User:Zzhk|Zzhk]] ([[User talk:Zzhk#top|talk]]) 04:55, 4 June 2014 (CDT)

::OK thank you! I need to fix those page a little bit, I will send you the pics as soon as they are finished ( because I don't know how to upload :"> ). Anyway, do you think I should find and use the contents of volume 1? You know, it will be more synchronous, although there are some differences. I think they are:

"I am on a separate level from trash humans like you. Your stupidity fails to see that you are the same age as me" ( chapter 4 )

"If you are willing to sacrifice your body to me, I will guarantee the safety of other people around you. How is that?" ( chapter 2 )

"It’s love at first sight, you should be honored." ( chapter 2 )
[[User:Hunter|Hunter]] ([[User talk:Hunter|talk]]) 05:55, 5 June 2014 (CDT)

Here is volume 1: [https://www.dropbox.com/s/4lu9rjw1zw5dsr4/SCaD%2001v1.JPG your translation] and [https://www.dropbox.com/s/4cg9ehhja63xufx/SCaD%2001v2.JPG volume 1 content]. You can use 1 of them!
volume 2: [https://www.dropbox.com/s/joh85audsohsh26/SCaD%2002.jpg]
Sorry, I intend to fix a little but it seems my editor remains offline =_= so they are all that I can do... I updated the image volume 2 and 1 ( using the content version ) if you want to fix, pls do![[User:Hunter|Hunter]] ([[User talk:Hunter|talk]]) 06:47, 10 June 2014 (CDT)

===About the Bot===
The bot goes through a list that is created and maintained by [[User:Cloudii|Cloudii]] and a few selected individuals.

There is not much I can do unless the document itself is changed. I will talk to him once more.

But I would like to ask you to write on his talk page about this small... inconsistency ?

This is the first run of the bot and the next round is scheduled to be next month around this day. {{User:Simon/Signature}}

: There, found and fixed. Gonna see for a nicer method... The Template tags were ok, but the template was missing a few things.
: Ain't gonna complain because that was partly an error on my side, but next time wait a bit. I do check if it gone right.
: Now off to hunt someone down.{{User:Simon/Signature}}

===Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari===

I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the Web Novel has not been licensed for publication, just the light novel and the manga. As the Web Novel is both free of potential DMCA notices and substantially different from the content of the licensed work, it does not need to be removed from Baka-Tsuki. - Concerned Anon, April 2nd, 2015, at 2:38pm EST

=== Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend ===

Hey, thanks once again for showing me the ropes. I guess you're right about the removed links, but I was the one who put most of them there in the first place haha.[[User:Deadpansnarker|Deadpansnarker]] ([[User talk:Deadpansnarker|talk]]) 14:59, 10 October 2015 (UTC)