Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 1 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 2===

WOOOOOOOOOOOO...

I woke up to the siren blaring. Then I immediately saw Iris' face appear before my eyes.

"Uh..."

Seeing Iris sound asleep at a distance where we could feel each other's breathing, I instantly became wide awake.

I should have had my back towards her, but unknowingly, I had turned around in my sleep somehow.

Fortunately, she was no longer clinging to me, so I left Iris and got off the bed.

Inside the room where the lights were still switched off, only the monitor glowed brightly.

The siren was not coming from the monitor but the speakers for communications.

This was a warning that Leviathan had approached the alert zone in the waters.

On screen, the battle was finally beginning.

Just outside Midgardsormr, NIFL's battleships were blocking Leviathan's path. A giant silhouette could be seen in the sea. It looked like it was swimming at a shallower depth compared to yesterday.

Pillars of water rose in its surroundings.

"Torpedoes...?"

Attacks were apparently starting at last.

In the next instant, a hole opened up in the sea.

It was Leviathan's ability—Antigravity. The power to push away and reject everything.

Pushed away, the seawater formed giant waves, striking and sinking many ships.

Judging from the fact that the ships appeared to be pea-sized in comparison, that hole's diameter reached almost ten kilometers. Then a giant creature surfaced from that hole.

"That's... 'White' Leviathan."

Despite having seen it on photographs before, upon seeing a live video feed like now, I could not help but feel shocked by that overwhelming presence.

The screen had switched to an angle as though the camera was on a ship. Using an antigravity field to float into the air, Leviathan's impressive body was being filmed from below. It was so gigantic that it could not fit inside the screen. The surrounding ships looked almost like toys.

According to the speculation of scientists, this dragon might be mutated from a blue whale.

Indeed, with front flippers, tail fins and an air hole on it's back, it shared the same characteristics as marine mammals. However, it definitely did not look like the same type of creature.

Covered all over by a white outer shell, it had a giant horn on its head and rows of sharp teeth like a carnivorous predator, not something one could still consider the same species as the blue whale.

The fleet could be seen firing anti-air guns and surface-to-air missiles, but no matter what was fired, they all stopped in midair before being repelled.

Struck directly by missiles that were sent back, the ships exploded and scattered.

—I finally realized what Mitsuki meant by deflecting back.

Looking at the half-wrecked fleet, I began to think at the same time.

If one wanted to breach the repulsive field using projectiles, the only way would be to break through using massive momentum. Since the enemy's ability was already understood, NIFL must have used high-speed shells as much as possible, but to end up with this outcome... It was probably because they had yet to find out the maximum output of Leviathan's repulsive field, right?

"Did lots of people just die in the attack?

I heard a trembling voice behind me. I looked back to see Iris staring at the monitor, having just woken up.

"...It's probably okay. Because the NIFL battleships attacking on the frontlines are almost all unmanned ships controlled remotely through cloud systems."

Anti-dragon battles were essentially battles where sacrifice was inevitable. Hence, NIFL would always send out unmanned fighter jets and fleets. Hopefully, there were no human losses.

At this moment, what appeared from the satellite view was a red marker. The marker was approaching Leviathan at high speed.

"An ICBM—"

Assuming this was a weapon under NIFL's jurisdiction, I had a pretty good idea what it was.

The anti-dragon ICBM, Gáe Bolg, named after the spear used by a Celtic mythological hero, was their latest weapon. Tipped with mithril, it was able to pierce any dragon's skin to cause an explosion inside.

''Of all the weapons whose development I participated in'', this was supposed to be the most effective.

This was the manner in which I made effective use of the power I had obtained from my deal with Yggdrasil. And now, it was time for it to show results.

Gáe Bolg would use multiple boosters to accelerate during its descent to reach a final speed beyond Mach 40. It was most likely the fastest projectile weapon on Earth.

The strongest spear created by mankind was about to strike Leviathan from the air.

The video image instantly distorted while a violent explosion turned the screen white.

After a slight delay, nearby screens also turned into white images.

"What's the outcome...?"

Iris asked with worry.

"No idea. As long as it hits, any dragon should not be able to come out unscathed but—"

Even after the bright light faded, the screen was still shrouded in smoke, showing nothing.

But after a while when the smoke had dissipated, the giant white body swam out from the smoke.

The repulsive field pushed smoke away while Leviathan emerged completely unharmed.

"Why is it fine despite such a strong explosion?"

Iris groaned with disbelief.

"Whether the missile or the explosion, they were probably pushed back by the repulsive field. Judging from the aftermath with smoke everywhere, the repulsive field contracted momentarily. Just a bit more, and it could have reached the dragon's body."

Ultimately, using my power was still not enough.

Leviathan moved past NIFL's fleet to approach Midgardsormr's first defensive line.

Spread in a circle, 20m-tall cube-shaped units deployed round lens openings.

Immediately, dozens of bright light beams shot at Leviathan.

"This time... Tactical high-energy lasers."

As a laser weapon, delivery was near lightspeed, far surpassing that of Gáe Bolg, striking the instant it was shot. However, the lasers were distorted unnaturally in front of Leviathan and ended up flying past the dragon.

"M-Mononobe! What happened this time?"

Iris got off the bed, crouched down next to me and asked.

"By my guess, it probably used the repulsive field to warp space, how troublesome... It seems to adjust countermeasures depending on the situation. It probably judged the lasers as unblockable."

I had also participated in the development of tactical high-energy lasers.

Because my only friend at NIFL was in the technological development department, I would often visit during my training breaks, ''passing my knowledge'' to him discreetly.

One could say that NIFL's technology was raised by many levels using the ''knowledge of power'' I had received from Yggdrasil.

However... This weapon was not enough to defeat a dragon either.

"Ahhh... It's breaching the first defensive line."

Iris sighed with disappointment.

"No, the plan is apparently to let it pass. The Dragon Subjugation Squad is already waiting at the second defensive line."

I pointed to another screen.

In the air above the laser units, the girls were wielding their respective weapons. Lisa was in the center of the group. With her fictional armament raised—Gungnir—she said something.

Immediately, the units of the first and second defensive lines all fired lasers simultaneously.

This was a saturation attack executed from two fronts. Using spatial distortion as evasive measures would not be able to handle attacks coming from all directions.

A number of lasers struck Leviathan, causing damage for the first time. Scorching, slicing through its outer shell, the lasers left numerous burns on the surface.

However, the target was far too massive. Perhaps it was not even enough to inflict pain. Although Leviathan was injured to some extent, it still continued to advance unfazed.

Then with Lisa in the lead, the Dragon Subjugation Squad attacked.

The defense offered by spatial distortion had reached a limit. Leviathan could no longer handle all attacks. A thick beam of light released by Lisa pierced Leviathan's left flipper.

At this moment, the white monster bared its sharp teeth, reacting for the first time.

"..."

Next to me, Iris suddenly clutched her flank.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"...This is bad, it's angry... Everyone, run away—"

Through the nightgown's sheer fabric, I could see the dragon mark glowing intensely.

Around Leviathan's giant horn, the surrounding scenery became distorted.

Then Leviathan opened its massive jaws. Although I could not hear any sound from the video feed, I knew the dragon was roaring.

The sea—It split apart.

Everything along Leviathan's route of advance was sent flying away. Giant laser units broke and scattered, falling into the surrounding sea.

Originally in formation, the Dragon Subjugation Squad was also scattered in disarray.

BOOM—A low vibration also reached the shelter where we were.

Looking at the satellite view, let alone the second defensive line, even the third and final defensive lines had collapsed in some parts.

It had probably deployed a repulsive field in front of itself then shot it like a cannonball.

"This is... quite bad."

I remarked bitterly.

The attack just now clearly showed the gap in power between humans and dragons.

The Dragon Subjugation Squad gathered and attacked again. Leviathan was still quite far from Midgard.

Lisa's face was seen for an instant on the screen, showing no signs of giving up.

However, if one were to draw early conclusions based on the battle so far—

Just as I was thinking that, the shelter's speakers could be heard.

'Student No. 8 of Brynhildr Class, Mononobe Yuu—Please hurry to the command center in the clock tower. I repeat—'

Iris looked at me in surprise.

"Mononobe, they're calling for you?"

"Yeah... That's right."

An ominous feeling turned into certainty. My fears had evidently turned into reality.

"What's with you? Why are you making such a scary face...?"

"Iris, put on your uniform quickly and come to the command center with me."

I instructed her swiftly. There was probably not much time left.

"Eh? I thought I'm not supposed to leave the shelter...?"

"Ignore that, hurry! If you stay here any longer—You might be killed!"