Leviathan:Volume 6 Chapter 2
Chapter 2 - The King of Magi Returns
Part 1
The bold and unfettered personality of Hannibal the red dragon king was publicly recognized without contention.
One could call him sloppy or doing things with no planning at all. At this very moment, the strongest king of dragonkind was following his whims, taking a break.
"Well, I guess I've got to get properly rested no matter what."
Lying on the ground uncouthly, he released a great yawn.
This was Hannibal's human form, a well-built red-headed man. He finally took off the red coat that never left his side, casually rolling it up to use as a pillow.
Hannibal's current environment was extremely peculiar.
It was a gray space extending to the horizon. Hannibal was trapped in a bounded field where there was nothing apart from himself.
"Hmm... My last time as captive was four thousand years ago, maybe? Or was it five thousand?"
He tried to recall his vague memories but immediately gave up.
There was no need to remember the exact time. The key point was that "it was very long ago." This kind of adventure surely felt nostalgic.
Hannibal noticed that he was actually quite excited.
"This really takes me back. I used to go around looking for this kind of fun once in a while."
Captured and imprisoned in the enemy commander's castle.
However, he would make full use of his wits and martial prowess, setting himself free and proceeding to exterminate the enemy army for a bit of payback.
During captivity, the spices of boredom, hunger and torture would be added too.
Now that Hannibal thought back, every memories was so wonderful.
Currently, Hannibal had reached the pinnacle of strength and would occasionally reminisce about the fear and nervousness he had felt back then.
"Hmm. I might as well give up a dragon king's power and 'start over.' That'll be pretty amusing."
Grinning, he suddenly began to fantasize.
In addition, the prime culprit imprisoning him was the ghost that the successor of the Bow had summoned from the sea of stars recently. He was haunting the weird ark.
It looked like he was the Tyrannos possessing the Rune of the Ring...
"What a rude and careless guy, he didn't even drop by to say hi."
After locking Hannibal into the gray prison, the other party had not shown up at all.
However, dragon kings possessed extreme senses like beasts. He knew that the enemy or the enemy's lackey was monitoring him from outside the prison at all times.
Hannibal could faintly sense the other party's gaze and wariness.
"Waste of effort."
The red dragon king grinned slightly in mockery.
They should know just by focusing their mind a little.
During the showdown against the Bow user, the red dragon king's heartmetal had suffered serious damage, causing his healing speed and magic recovery to slow down.
It was not time to make a move yet. He could wait longer for more power to return.
That was precisely why Hannibal was yawning in leisure, lounging away to kill time in lethargy. In his current state, he must focus on recuperating.
Hence, the person outside need not be so nervous.
At least for the time being—
"Someone who doesn't get that must be human... Or rather, a human who has never turned into a dragon before?"
He muttered to himself while thinking back.
Princess Yukikaze had inherited the arrow's dragonslaying rune. The adorable white dragon king.
Only capable of an incomplete transformation, that little lass would be considered a half-human, half-dragon existence. However, she understood this principle well.
In that case, should this be relegated as a question of aptitude?
Ultimately, members of the human race were still living creatures, companions of beasts.
Most humans refused to acknowledge and accept this fact, unwilling to take a further step towards becoming "beasts."
On further thought, they were such a weird bunch.
"Well then, what about this kid?"
The young man and Tyrannos who was controlling an "imitation dragon king," a most extraordinary tool.
Hannibal recalled the Bow's successor. What might that guy be doing right now?
"Come, come, Lord Haruga. A drink for you."
"Oh my oh my, ahaha."
"Wow, what a bold drinker you are. Come, another cup."
"Oh my oh my, ahaha... Uh, Shamiram-san, it's a bit much when you're using distilled water to pretend to serve wine."
"Despite saying that, you seem to be quite enjoying yourself."
"Oh my oh my, ahaha."
The dead beautiful witch, Shamiram, was holding a narrow flask in her hand.
From the flask, she poured drinking water into the wine cup in Hal's hand, encouraging him to have a drink.
Looked after by the "pretty older lady" with immaculate care, Hal was feeling a little lustful.
Furthermore, this handcrafted flask looked as though an amateur had sculpted it sloppily.
Bluntly stated, its shape was very ugly. The color was also a dull reddish brown. However, according to Shamiram, the distilled water in the flask never ran out no matter how much you powered.
It was an excellent magic treasure in contrast to its humble appearance.
'Anyway, I'd like to secure food and water first... Do you have any ideas?'
Just earlier, Shamiram had made a request to Hal.
After some contemplation, Hal finally used Dispel magic.
Then after breaking King Solomon's curse, it was Hal's turn to ask for a favor to sate his hunger and thirst. Thus Shamiram led the two of them to a certain sky island.
She said that the temple on that island had treasures capable of creating water and food.
What transported them from one island to the next was the giant pteranodon.
Named Ashkelon, she was the "serpent" under Shamiram's control. With her master, Hal, and Hazumi riding on her back, this ancient leviathan flew lightly to their destination.
Thus, Hal and Hazumi finally tasted food for the first time in a while.
However, it was definitely not a sumptuous meal. The only drink was the distilled water poured out from the magic flask. On the other hand, the only food was—
"Senpai, here you go."
Hazumi handed over an big earthen plate.
This plate was also handcrafted and covered with irregularities. One could tell that its creator had very poor craftsmanship. However, this plate was also a magic treasure.
Just by praying to it, white bread would appear on the plate.
Thus, the plate was currently carrying white bread, summoned by Hazumi's prayer. While thanking his diligent protege, Hal tore off a piece of bread.
...Munch. What terrible taste.
If he concentrated hard, he could sense a bit of sweetness from that starch.
But that was all. Judging from the Japanese standard of putting large amounts of cream and butter into their bread, this was practicably on the level of "tasteless."
This was still very nutritious—Shamiram had told them.
"The manna mentioned in the Bible could very well taste like this," muttered Hal while chewing the almost tasteless bread.
As the creator of the bread, Hazumi smiled with purity and responded to Hal.
"I've heard of that. I remember it was God's food, wasn't it? When Jesus and Moses prayed to God, something that fell from the sky and resembled frost."
"Yes, you're right, that's the one."
"Let me make you something delicious after we escape this place. Although my cooking is nowhere as good as Nee-sama or Asya-san... Will you be willing to try it?"
"That goes without saying!"
"Fufufufu. Thank you."
Hal nodded vigorously in response to Hazumi's suggestion.
This was a heart-to-heart moment between an upstanding senior and his junior. However, Hazumi immediately came back to her senses and looked away stiffly.
It was as though she could not bear to watch the senior's foolishness any longer.
Ahem. Hal cleared his throat and said to Shamiram in a serious tone of voice, "Excuse me, can I ask you to stop messing around?"
"Oh?"
The beautiful witch, Shamiram, used her index finger to lightly caress Hal's inner thigh and said mischievously, "And what do you mean by that?"
"L-Like this kind of inappropriate conduct! Also, there's no need for you to sit next to me and show off your probably H-cup bust and cleavage to me—"
"I can't (stroke-stroke)?"
"O-Of course not."
"But Lord Haruga, I feel as though your face is saying 'more, more'..."
"Unfounded speculation, I can assure you."
Hal protested while feeling surprised and alarmed inside.
Of course, his expression was very serious. However, Shamiram was calmly and confidently using her body to launch a "smiling and stroking" offensive to strike back.
"Is that truly so?"
"A-As the one in question here, my words absolutely cannot be wrong."
"Fufufufu. There is also the possibility you are lying, Lord Haruga. I wish to investigate thoroughly."
Shamiram's commitment to service was very strong.
Apart from letting Hal grope her breast in the beginning, she would touch Hal's body like this from then on, pouring water for him, teasing him in every way possible.
To be honest, the thought of "if only she wasn't dead" had crossed Hal's mind as well as "isn't being alive or dead just a minor detail?", possibly as part of the closet pervert in every man.
Crap, crap. Form is no different from emptiness, and emptiness is no different from form.
When Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara practised the deep Prajnaparamita, he saw that the five skandhas were empty; thus he overcame all ills and suffering...
Hal recited the Buddhist scripture that was about "things with form ultimately end up no different from that which is formless—" in an attempt to coldly push away the beautiful witch from an ancient kingdom.
However, the pair of ostensibly H-cup breasts was making his mind spin, preventing Hal from taking action in a timely manner.
"P-Please wait!"
At that moment, Hazumi suddenly shouted.
"Excuse me, but Senpai already asked you to stop. Shamiram-san, it's time for you to come over and begin your meal too!"
"No no. I have no need to eat. After all, I am already dead."
"!? Sorry, I forgot..."
Hazumi was at a loss when the plate of bread she presented was refused. In contrast, the beautiful witch Shamiram continued nonchalantly.
"Furthermore, Lady Hazumi, this is ultimately only part of my gratitude in return."
"Really...?"
"Indeed. To forget favors and to repay kindness with betrayal would be morally bankrupt and unfit to be called a human being. I wish to be of service to my savior Lord Haruga as much as possible."
"B-But—"
"And judging from Lord Haruga's facial expression, he doesn't seem to be an unwilling participant, does he?"
"That is not true! Senpai isn't supposed to be like that!"
Hazumi yelled at the ancient witch. It was rare to see her so worked up.
It almost seemed like she was jealous of Shamiram. Hal widened his eyes in surprise. On the other hand, Shamiram spoke with a laid back face, "On the contrary. Men at this age are undoubtedly like this. Despite being dead, when a peerless beauty like me takes initiative in approaching him... Lord Haruga's lust will assuredly be stimulated. The evidence is how he furtively glances at my chest."
"I-Is that true, Senpai!?"
Seeing Shamiram explain convincingly, Hazumi wavered and asked with uncertainty.
Naturally, Hal would not be careless enough to show his true colors at such a time. Making full use of his acting skills, he strained to feign composure.
"S-Silly child, how could I possibly do such a thing?"
"Fufufufu. Lord Haruga, you are not very honest, I see," said the deceased, beautiful witch happily.
She even puffed out her chest to show off her pair of breasts that seemed to symbolize the fruits of the land.
Form is no different from emptiness, and emptiness is no different from form. Okay, no problem, sage mode activated successfully.
Shamiram stared at Hal suggestively and said softly, "Well, let us assume that he truly does not have that intention."
She winked. Clearly she was already dead, but why was she still so sexy?
Hal found the witch's mysterious allure unbelievable. In front of him, Shamiram continued to make problematic statements.
"Having caressed my breast with such passion previously, Lord Haruga and I have clearly crossed the line in our relationship."
"Th-That's because you pulled my hand to touch yourself, Shamiram-san."
"Yet you were fondling rather thoroughly..."
In his shock, Hal had accidentally persisted in fondling her. That was the truth and he had nothing to say in defense of that.
However, it was not lust. At least not on the surface. Just as he intended to launch a rebuttal, Hazumi spoke before him.
"Th-Then in that case, it's the same for me!"
"Oh? It is the same for you too, Lady Hazumi?"
"Yes! Senpai has groped me in the chest too! Forcefully, squeezing hard! Shamiram-san, you are not the only special one!"
"S-Shirasaka!?"
"Oh—?"
The adorable junior's sudden confession caught Hal unprepared. Shamiram crossed her arms.
"Lord Haruga... So you are the same as Master Solomon, I see?"
"Eh? What do you mean by that?"
The ancient witch answered Hal's question decisively, "Putting his paws on the maidens in his service, philandering outside, wooing them with deception to marry them as concubines—That is what I mean. In the past, I too, was one of Master's beloved concubines, serving at his side."
"......"
"......"
The unexpected situation left Hazumi speechless.
Hal was the same, but he managed to gather his thoughts together, just barely. It would be bad if he continued to remain in this position of disadvantage. It was time to seize initiative back from the deceased witch whose speech and behavior were all so shocking.
"Uh, I'm very interested in Solomon-senpai's exploits alright," said Hal in a serious tone to change the subject. "But let's first discuss our next move. I believe we have two options. One is to have Shamiram-san take us to the exit so that all of us can leave the ark together."
"That probably will not work," the beautiful witch replied apologetically. "There is only one person able to open the ark's entrance arbitrarily, namely, its owner. Naturally, under the current circumstances, it means Master Solomon."
"Then our only choice is the second option."
Hal shrugged and deliberately tried to sound nonchalant.
"We must work together and hijack this ship—in other words, take control by brute force so that we can control it freely."
Part 2
After chatting, refreshments and a meeting...
Hal and Hazumi parted ways with the beautiful witch from an ancient kingdom and were back being alone together.
Riding the miniaturized Minadzuki, they took flight into the sky inside the ark, filled with sky islands. As before, Hazumi rode in front with Hal behind her.
Unlike earlier, they now had a clear target.
Solomon's ark apparently had a control room like in human ships.
Shamiram entered its coordinates into Hal's "magic wand," the magic gun. Truly impressive, an ancient witch. She performed such a high-level technique effortlessly.
"But are you sure we should be splitting up from Shamiram-san?"
"Just as she said, she would have greater freedom to act alone compared to staying with us, who are so conspicuous. She'll extend a helping hand in secret when we're in danger."
After Hal replied to alleviate Hazumi's worries, he lowered his voice.
"Also... In the event that she's lying, it'd be dangerous to be around her too."
"Lying about what?"
"Lying about hating Solomon-senpai and betraying him when she actually intends to conspire against us. Moving around as a group with a traitor in our midst would be quite hassle since you never know when you'll get stabbed in the back."
Rather than working together while worrying, it would be better to go separate ways—
That was what Hal thought. He wanted to believe in human benevolence as much as possible but they had yet to establish any trust. Trust was not something to offer to others unconditionally.
In contrast, it seemed like Hazumi had not considered that possibility at all.
Stunned over there, she looked like she wanted to argue, but she paused to think before speaking. Finally, she said, "You are right... After all, we just met her."
"Yeah. It's unfortunate, but for us, sometimes it's definitely necessary to be more vigilant."
Hal gradually felt his soul soothed by his junior.
Because Hazumi's pure heart, refusing to suspect others unreasonably, moved him a bit.
"B-By the way..."
Hazumi started up another topic of conversation, probably to change the gloomy atmosphere.
"I feel that Solomon-san was not a very decent person."
"Definitely. Forcing a woman who had an intimate relationship with him to follow him to the grave and even using a curse to force her to be his gravekeeper for all eternity, that's definitely beyond fiendish."
"Can't you use your magic to help her, Senpai?"
"I doubt it. I don't think I have any spell that'll come in handy. By this point, even if I release her from her undead state, there's no way for her to reincarnate as a human. There's no spell to help her pass on to nirvana either."
"What a... pity."
Hazumi suddenly stammered then said stiffly, "B-By the way, Senpai, I am so sorry for earlier. I can't believe I said something like 'Shamiram-san, you are not the only special one!'"
"Oh, sure. You surprised me there."
"Umm... I don't quite understand it myself, but at the time, I felt compelled to speak at all costs. I couldn't hold it in no matter what. I felt that had the situation continued, Senpai would've become Shamiram-san's—"
Hazumi was jealous after all?
Jealous of the beautiful ancient witch who seemed like she was about to monopolize Haruga Haruomi with her bold behavior. The instant he realized this, Hal breathed a sigh of relief.
(Has my "big brother" flag finally been raised...!?)
It was just yesterday when he had told Hazumi that "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 big brother!"
At that instant, Hal felt an indescribable surge of emotions in his heart.
"I am truly sorry. Also, I just realized.""
"O-Oh? What did you realize?"
He feigned calmness but could not stop his feelings inside from getting stirred up.
Hal could not help but start to fantasize. He imagined Hazumi confessing to him, "Senpai, you are already 'Onii-chan' to me!" in a shocking development.
What a conundrum. Am I finally going to gain a little sister of no blood relation?
However, what Hazumi said was completely outside his predictions.
"Senpai... Do you do the same thing with others as what you did when you touched my breast? Umm, like with Nee-sama or Asya-san..."
"Ah, uh—I won't do that kind of stuff to Asya. Absolutely not."
Strictly speaking, he had done something similar during Rushalka's rebirth.
Even so, Hal still thought of it as a one-time exception that probably would not happen ever again. In fact, his childhood friend was able to use the sun-shooting divine bow successfully without Hal's help. However—
"Th-Then Senpai, sure enough, towards Nee-sama and Luna-san, you will..."
"......"
Hal realized his mistake. To think he had acknowledged the truth with his own mouth!
"I-In order to win against those dragons, there was really a necessity."
All he could do was relate "the truth itself."
Hal did everything he could to tense up his expression and speak in an extremely serious tone. At this rate, he was going to lose his dignity as the "senior."
To break out of this crisis, he spoke from the heart, "In truth, I've never had the luxury of sparing thoughts on other matters during battle."
...This was the truth close to the deepest part of his psyche.
He also knew that "other matters" actually surfaced in his mind during the instants when he had touched Orihime and Luna.
That being said, Hazumi still nodded and agreed with his slightly exaggerated admission.
"I-I get it! Last time, I was facing a great showdown against Hannibal-san too. B-But it's definitely as you say, Senpai... Huh?"
The two of them were riding on Minadzuki, who had shrunk down to five meters or so.
Sitting in front of Hal, Hazumi suddenly held her sides and bent over forward.
"Ah... Ooooooh. M-My stomach hurts..."
"Sh-Shirasaka!?"
Hal wrapped his arms around Hazumi's shoulders from behind and examined her face.
The pain lasted roughly three or four minutes before Hazumi finally recovered. With a haggard look, she said softly, "Sorry... I suddenly acted weird when it crossed my mind that Senpai has done the same thing with Nee-sama and Luna-san, which means they also experienced that kind of feeling."
"I-I see."
It was most likely a stomach cramp caused by severe stress.
Health problems were common for the delicate Hazumi.
Did this mean that the mere thought of a certain guy getting intimate with other girls apart from her would cause stress, then wasn't this the same as an unrequited love...?
No no no. No way that could be possible.
Hal rejected his thought halfway through.
No matter what, this delusion was too self-centered and narcissistic.
Suppose Hazumi "felt that way" towards him, of course, he would almost die from overjoy, but Hal believed this was definitely impossible.
He should first distract Hazumi's focus from the mysterious source of stress.
Hal changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, can you be more specific on what 'that kind of feeling' is like? It's when I was sending magical power into your heart, wasn't it?"
Strictly speaking, it was a ritual to transfer magical power by touching a witch's breast with his palm.
Even now, Orihime and Luna still refused to tell Hal what they had felt. The third test subject, Hazumi, thought in silence for a moment before speaking softly, "It is very hard to describe, but... It felt very pleasurable..."
"Oh? Pleasurable huh."
"Yes. Like being in paradise, every inch of my body was very warm. But as soon as that moment passed, it felt extremely tiring."
Some kind of blissful feeling? Hal hoped it was not addictive like drugs.
Thinking "I see" to himself, Hal nodded.
Hazumi then asked, "Umm... What about you, Senpai?"
"What about me?"
"This body part of mine isn't as big as Nee-sama's or Luna-san's... or Shamiram-san's."
She pressed her right hand on her chest lightly.
Then speaking softly with uncertainty and worry, she said, "I feel very sad... as soon as I wonder if you might dislike this kind of size, Senpai. Sorry, if only I were bigger."
"W-W-W-What are you talking about, Shirasaka!?"
Hal shouted in shock.
"Although I'd definitely say 'the bigger the better' if forced to pick, that doesn't mean I reject the value of flat chests! I really like ones on the small side like yours too!"
Only after saying that did Hal realize he had misspoken.
He thought "what the heck did I say in desperation—" to himself but the weird thing was that Hazumi listened to his problematic statement to the very end and nodded.
And she even smiled with happiness.
"Really? Fufufufu, I am so glad."
"......"
Seeing his junior react with unexpected cuteness, Hal felt his heart skip a beat with a forceful "badump", then immediately—
Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—
Minadzuki called out softly.
Minadzuki was the "serpent" with whom Hal had established a covenant through Hazumi. Hence, he could immediately sense her intent. This was a warning.
Through her superlative senses of a leviathan's, she had detected the approach of a dangerous enemy.
"Shirasaka, land at the nearest island."
"U-Understood. Is it Solomon-san?"
"Very likely. Be careful."
Hazumi also understood her partner's warning.
She immediately followed orders with a "Yes!", gently stroking Minadzuki's back.
As a a result, the emerald serpentine dragon flew to the sky island three or four kilometers ahead, landing on it and taking a prone position.
Hal and Hazumi instantly leaped to the ground.
Then they turned their heads to search the sky. A crimson elite dragon was slowly flying over from a certain direction. The two of them spotted the beautiful figure surrounded by flames.
Unmistakable. It was the Crimson Queen.
It was the body of the dragon king that King Solomon had stolen from Haruga Haruomi.
"A direct showdown against Senpai at last huh..."
Muttering to himself, he summoned his magic gun.
Part 3
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Part 4
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