Leviathan:Volume 2 Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Sword or Bow

Part 1

The location was in front of the former Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, in a corner of western Shinjuku. In addition, what used to be Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1 was one block away. Hal and Hazumi were bathed under the morning glow together.

The girl next to him clearly had a stiff expression. Hal could not help but speak to her.

"Actually, I don't want you to accompany me on such a dangerous task..."

"No, not at all, please allow me to come along. Minadzuki should be protecting me."

Hazumi looked extremely nervous but she still insisted firmly.

"U-Umm, if the battle goes well, I-I'd like to ask you for a favor..."

"I'll accept it no matter what you ask, but can you save that for later?"

Hazumi instantly stopped talking. She noticed it too.

Over in the eastern sky that had been dyed pink by the rays of dawn, there was a black dot. And it was expanding nonstop. It was the shadow of the dragon flying towards them.

"Successor of the Bow, thank you for waiting!"

Pavel Galad descended, accompanied by his energetic and beautiful voice.

Instantly, the ground shook from the impact. Hal and Hazumi almost lost balance.

"I didn't wait for long. In truth, I only just arrived."

Hal shielded the nervous Hazumi behind his back.

His throat was parched from nervousness as before. His heart was also pounding like a drum. Even so, Hal still reminded himself not to forget to speak in his usual tone of voice, as much as possible.

The silver-white dragon was standing very straight at a crossroad ten-odd meters away.

"I will listen if you have any words before the battle."

"No, I've got nothing to say. By this point, what benefit is there in wasting more effort on words?"

The dragonslaying sword appeared in Pavel Galad's right hand. In preparation for battle, Hal summoned the magic gun of steel and gold into his right hand as well. Both sides had prepared by materializing their respective "wands."

Then Pavel raised his sword up high.

"O secret runes of Ruruk Soun, purify this land with an explosive baptism!"

Five magic symbols manifested over the silver-white head.

The arrangement of "heat and explosion"! Just as Hal rapidly deployed imperishable protection, his surroundings were instantly engulfed in conflagration with a massive explosion. An attack caused by the runes just now.

"Kyahhhh!"

"Trying to use his sword with magic at the same time huh..."

Hazumi screamed while under the protection of the pearly radiance. On the other hand, Hal muttered to himself.

Even when struck by an attack of Ruruk Soun's magic, imperishable protection remained solid as a mountain and definitely protected the girl beside him. In fact, Hal only brought her along because he trusted this defense.

Unsure of her sense of control over her "serpent," Hazumi had made the offer on her own.

I'd like to be closer to Minadzuki, which will make it easier for our souls to commune—

Defense-wise, there was nothing to worry about for now. However, flames and wind from the explosion were raging outside the protection. Concrete blocks and metal fragments were flying around. It was almost like a scene from hell.

Hal took a deep breath then pointed his gun's muzzle at the sky—diagonally above.

"So he fled to the sky because even he himself will be swallowed by the explosion..."

Due to the explosion's wind and flames, Hal could not see what was outside at all. However, he could imagine the enemy's location. Thus after firing two shots, Hal felt certainty rise in his heart.

Despite capturing Galad, who had fled to the sky, the two shots just now were deflected by imperishable protection...

Hal was wielding a gun-shaped "wand," in other words, a magic bow in the form of a handgun.

The gun could aim automatically to a certain extent, allowing Hal to know where he ought to shoot.

"Fufufufu... So you have started to grow accustomed to controlling the Bow."

As laughter rose, the explosion's wind and flames finally dissipated.

The asphalt of the road was cracked while street lights were bent. A large part of the former Metropolitan Assembly and the lower floors of office buildings were swept away in the explosion's wake.

As expected, Galad was in the air with his silver wings spread and his entire body enveloped in the light of protection.

Naturally, he was unharmed. Next, the silver dragon's left arm suddenly split open to bleed mercury-colored blood. Thus, the blood fell to the ground.

"I have taken last night as an opportunity to create a new minion. Now that things have come to this, I shall summon my own forces to add splendor to the battlefield!"

Nine runes of Ruruk Soun appeared over Galad's head and shone radiantly.

A dual arrangement implying "alchemy" and "bestowal of magical power." Instead of turning into molten metal as last time, the mercury-colored blood came together to form a different shape.

A metallic solid instead of a liquid. However, this shape was—

"A T-Rex!?"

Hal exclaimed loudly. He had some impression of Galad's new minion.

It was the most symbolic carnivorous dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period. However, what had appeared here was just a tyrannosaurus rex's complete skeletal model.

The mercury-colored metal had recreated a T-Rex skeleton perfectly.

The metallic skull opened its jaws, roaring like a living beast.

RAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWR!

The body, made of bones only, started to move. Walking on the ground on its hind legs, bending down its skeleton of a body, it swung its long tail like a metal chain.

This skeletal model was a metal golem created by alchemical magic.

After all, Pavel Galad was an alchemist specializing in metal transformations and an enchanter who strengthened his creations by bestowing magical power upon them!

"Of course, things do not end here. By my privilege as a Zizou, I summon the winged lizards of Jabones from the realm of the sky!"

Galad swung the dragonslaying sword at the air above him while shouting at the same time.

Immediately, dozens of shooting stars descended from the sky. Hal had seen this scene many times before, the summoning of lesser dragons, Raptors, by elites.

This time, there were roughly forty of them. This many Raptors were descending at the same time, flying at maximum speed just for the sake of slaughtering tiny Haruga Haruomi.

Then the T-Rex's metallic skeleton finally started to sprint.

Needless to say, it was running towards Hal and Hazumi, of course. The ensuing impact was astounding, causing them to fall on their bottoms. This was because the T-Rex had collided into them in spite of the deployed protection of imperishability.

"Kyahhh!"

"Uwah!"

Hazumi and Hal were unharmed. They immediately stood up. However, the T-Rex skeleton was climbing over the pearly protective shield, biting down with its massive jaws!

However, the protection remained. Unlike last time when struck by the dragonslaying sword, Hal did not feel any pain in his heart.

Against attacks not powered by dragonbane, perhaps imperishable protection really was absolutely inviolable.

"But the enemy isn't kind enough to fight unarmed... Anyway, the next part seems to be key."

"Y-Yes. I will try my very best...!"

Hazumi replied bravely and spoke to their comrade that was watching the battle from a distance.

"Akuro-Ou—Come and help us now!"

Words of summoning. Immediately, a white silhouette came running over. It was the nine-tailed fox-wolf, Akuro-Ou.

Dashing rapidly, Akuro-Ou used her momentum to collide into the T-Rex skeleton. Hassling Hal's protection relentlessly, the monster was blown away!

Kuohhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Akuro-Ou roared with fighting spirit in abundance. Meanwhile, the forty-something Raptors finally flooded the sky. But just at that moment...

Hazumi, who had been shielded behind Hal so far, stepped forward and cried out in an adorable voice:

"Respond to my voice, Minadzuki!"

New words of summoning. Hazumi closed her eyes and clasped her hands together as though in prayer.

A glowing pentagram appeared in the air above then turned into an infinity symbol before transforming into the emerald leviathan whose form was a serpentine dragon. The reborn Minadzuki materialized.

Raaaaaaaaaa raaaaaaaaa raaaaaaaaaaaaa...

Minadzuki called out as though singing a song, spreading her pair of wings at the same time.

Shining with golden brilliance, the wings had sprouted from Minadzuki's back. In the past, Minadzuki's right forelimb and four claws had served as her horn counterpart and were unusually long, but now, they had shrunk.

Currently, Minadzuki's left and right forelimbs were equally long.

Raaaaaaaaaa raaaaaaaaa raaaaaaaaaaaaa...

When Minadzuki sang again, the Raptors rapidly descending to the ground suddenly halted. Then as though losing their bearing, they rushed about randomly in the air above Shinjuku Fukutoshin.

The forty-odd Raptors seemed quite afraid of Minadzuki.

"Successor of the Bow, you are human and yet you employ the kin of dragons to do your bidding?"

In contrast, their master, Pavel Galad, remained confident and composed.

Despite seeing two leviathans show up, he only focused his attention on Hal alone. He even said the following:

"Fufufufu. Indeed, battles cannot be limited to weapons and runes alone. As seekers of the dragon king's throne, we successors are obliged to lead armies and exhibit our talent as generals!"

"That's really not my intention at all..."

Starting now was the key moment. Galad seemed to think so too.

While sighing in response to his opponent's unchanging temperament of hot blood, Hal glared at the silver dragon.

Part 2

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Part 3

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Part 4

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Part 5

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