Chapter 8 Part 12
Translator : PolterGlast
Through a blurry, foggy vision, Nozomu saw the scene.
Huge
hailstones poured down from the sky, engulfing and destroying small towns on
the ground.
The
hail pierced roofs, shattered walls, collapsed houses, and pummeled people who
screamed and ran for cover.
It
was a very common scene in this land. But for an ordinary human without power,
it was a deadly disaster.
A
being appeared and desperately tried to protect the town in such a crisis.
A
body clad in jet-black scales. The Black Dragon Tiamat, one of the species that
stood above those with flesh bodies, possessed immense power in their bodies.
She
began to protect the helpless people from the army of hail that was pouring
down, covering the city with the power of darkness she had carried in her body.
Seeing
their Lord coming to their aid, the people shouted in relief, joy, and praise.
However,
for some reason, the black dragon's expression was not good. For she alone
could prevent the hailstorm, but she could not stop it.
She
is a black dragon. She cannot directly control water or wind spirits. She had
no choice but to endure until the hail calmed down.
A
lonely battle.
She
was avoided even by her own people. No dragon was willing to get involved in
the buffer zone, and none of them agreed with her intention to help the humans.
To
make matters worse, the source element of water covering the sky began to
increase in concentration.
The
falling hailstones gradually increased in size, and the barrier of darkness
began to be impacted with even greater intensity.
Tiamat's
power is not infinite. If the water element covering the sky exceeded her
power, the humans below would definitely lose their lives to the blade of
nature.
Tiamat
began to pour more power into the barrier.
It
was an endless battle with no end in sight.
The
hailstorms that pummeled her barrier were like young leaves being eaten by
insects, eroding her mind and stirring up the sense of helplessness and
complexes that nestled in her heart.
(Even
so, I am ...!)
Even
though she felt helpless, even though her heart was about to break, she did not
want to give up.
Below
her, many humans were looking up at her in prayer.
The
first beings she wanted to protect. Those who, because of their vulnerability,
could understand the feelings of others and their pain.
She
looked up to the sky with a burning sense of responsibility and duty in her
heart, and above all, a strong feeling of affection.
(O
spirit of water! Thaw the frozen bodies of my friends and turn them into drops
of life.)
At
that moment, a dignified and pure voice echoed through the air.
In
the blink of an eye, the clouds that had covered the sky cleared and the sun
revealed itself.
Then,
bathed in the light of the incoming sun, a single blue dragon appeared.
"Oru!
You came!"
"Yes,
I heard from Mikael. It looks like you're helping out with some serious
matter."
Tiamat
shouted with joy at the sight of her friend who had rushed to the scene. She no
longer felt the sense of helplessness that had been eroding her heart.
=============================
"Come
on! Boy, what are you thinking?
"Uwa~!"
Zonne's
scolding echoed through the forest.
The
day after the dance practice at Irisdina's mansion. Nozomu had asked Zonne to
train him early in the morning.
However,
because he was so focused on the scene that came to his mind, he ended up
receiving a scolding from Zonne.
The
scene that had just crossed Nozomu's mind was the one he had seen in his dream
last night.
Perhaps
it was about Tiamat's past.
Perhaps
because he had received Mikael from Shina, he felt as if he had touched
Tiamat's emotions more deeply and directly than ever before.
"What's
the matter with you? Even though you've just been given a day off. Come on,
concentrate!"
"O-,
oh. My bad."
Nozomu
switched his mind and concentrated on his training.
He
could think about the dream he had this morning later. For now, he needed to
focus all his attention on this training.
"Fuh~..."
He
regulated his breathing and released the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
A
torrent of Qi overflowed simultaneously. Nozomu sensed the power raging within
his body and simultaneously focused his awareness on the inside and outside of
his body.
The
five-colored element leaked from the depths of the abyss, deep within himself.
The
torrent of power, as chaotic as a spray of paint and as unrelenting as a
tornado, raged through Nozomu's body, seeking to devour him with Tiamat's
hatred.
The
spirits around him, hit by the overflowing Qi, began to make a commotion,
fleeing from the scene with all their might.
Nozomu's
eyes turned toward the spirits who were flying away.
"Hou~..."
Zonne,
perhaps noticing that Nozomu was sensing the spirits, sounded impressed.
Meanwhile,
Nozomu, while desperately trying to control Tiamat's power, was reaching his
limits. His entire body was covered in a waterfall of greasy sweat, and his
skin was ripping with a pithy, shredding sound.
The
time he was able to release the chains was not much different from the last
time.
But
there was progress. Zonne nodded, satisfied to some extent.
"That's
enough, brat. It's time..."
"Guu,
gah~!"
Suddenly,
Nozomu vomited blood. He tried to push the limits and continue to release his
power.
Randomly
released forces carve further wounds on Nozomu's body, sprinkling spewed blood
and swirling around him.
Zonne hurriedly held up his hand and the white light emitted began to suppress Tiamat's leaked power.
"~!
What are you doing! Stop it quickly!"
"G-,
guu ... gahah~!"
Invisible
chains wrapped around Nozomu's body, and the power that had been flowing out
like a muddy stream subsided. At the same time, Nozomu fell to his knees as if
collapsing without force.
"Haa,
haa, haa..."
"What
are you doing! Do you really want to die?!"
"I-,
I'm sorry... I thought I could go a little longer..."
"You fool! I've
told you before! Neither spirit magic nor the control of unique abilities can
be done overnight! If you rush it and step out of line, you'll go straight to the
other side!"
While healing Nozomu's
wounds, who seemed to be out of breath, Zonne scolded the boy for his reckless
behavior in a hoarse voice.
If he made a mistake,
the boy's life wasn't the only thing at stake. If Tiamat were to be revived,
Arcazam would surely collapse. Even neighboring countries would not be left
alone.
Nozomu, too, was fully
aware of this, and while looking apologetic, he quietly received Zonne's
treatment.
"Haa~... It seems
that you can now sense the spirits. So, what's it like?"
"I'm not really
sure ..."
Nozomu himself could
only describe it like that.
Tiamat's hatred and
resentment, which he now felt more than ever, were as endless as a bottomless
swamp, and the elements that could be sensed were a mess, and as usual, there
was no sign of him being able to control them.
"Fumu~. Well, it
can be said that her power is chaos itself. But you did it a little better now.
You seem to be able to sense the spirits."
"……Eh?"
"I have told you
before. To control that power, you have to face the source of the power itself
and know it all. In that sense, the means, however small, are not wrong. You
should thank that elf-ojousan."
Nozomu's eyes widened
at the name Zonne mentioned.
"Why, are you
telling me that it has something to do with Shina?"
"She told you
that I asked her to give you Mikael, didn't she? When I told her about you, she
seemed to have something on her mind.
A "I've got
it!" kind of smile came across Zonne's mouth. Zonne looked at Nozomu, who
could not hide his surprise, with that kind of smile on his face.
Nozomu, on the other
hand, seemed to remember something.
It reminded him of the
glamorous figure of a young girl, who exposed her pure naked body under the
moonlight. Nozomu found himself staring at Zonne, trying to keep the heat
rising from deep within his body from showing on his face.
“…………”
"Don't look at me
so suspiciously. I have an idea of the ritual she performed on you, but I don't
know the details how she did it."
Since the only factor
that makes the blood-covenant ceremony possible is the mixing of the flowing
blood, Zonne could guess that Shina had performed the blood-covenant ceremony
with Nozomu, but he did not know how she had performed the ceremony.
But the smile on
Zonne's mouth made it hard for Nozomu to shake off his doubts.
"Is that
true?"
"Yeah, it's true.
But from the look on your face, which is like a boiled octopus, I can see that
you have been subjected to some pretty stimulating things."
"Wha! This damn
old man!"
Nozomu's shame was
aroused all at once, and he involuntarily raised his voice.
Zonne quickly waved
his hand and deployed a technique with a devilish grin plastered on his face.
"Ho, ho, ho~!
Today's training ends here! Farewell~!"
"This pervy
dragon! You better remember this!"
With a mocking line,
Zonne activated his transfer magic. A torrent of light rushed up from under
Nozomu's feet and enveloped his entire body, instantly shifting him from the
forest to the academy.
When the light
subsided, Nozomu was already standing under the school's martial arts garden.
In the blink of an
eye, Nozomu was sent to the dimly lit basement, where he repeatedly took deep
breaths in an attempt to calm his agitated mind.
"Good grief, this
old man sure give me a lot of trouble."
Finally calming down,
Nozomu sighed and carried his luggage, which was left nearby.
As he walked through
the entrance leading outside, Nozomu looked down at the palm of his hand.
The wound on his
fingertips. He looked at the marks on his fingertips where Shina had performed
the blood ritual while reflected on today's training.
"A step forward,
but still ..."
It was all thanks to
Shina that he was able to sense the spirits. As a result, he was able to sense
Tiamat's power more subtly.
In just one day, this
is more than enough of an achievement. However, the control time, which showed
no sign of increasing, made Nozomu feel frustration instead of joy.
A reddish-black
pressure ulcer covered the wound on his index finger. Its rusty iron color
reminded him of Irisdina's blood-stained raper.
Nozomu found himself
clenching his fists.
"Still a long way
to go..."
Nozomu, who came out
of the entrance, frowned at the bright sunlight, but turned to go to his
classroom. It was almost time for the first day of school.
(I've made one step
forward. Let's be satisfied with that for now.)
With that in mind,
Nozomu took a deep breath and relaxed his clenched fist, calming the agitation
in his chest. However, a single trickle of blood dripped from the scar on his
clenched fist.
It was as if to show
his frustration.
==============================
Zonne, who had sent
Nozomu back, was thinking about the training Nozomu had just done.
"Good grief, this
could be bad..."
What should have been
an opportunity to get Nozomu to rest and calm down turned out to be making him
even more restless.
Never before had
Nozomu continued to release his power beyond the limits of his own
crisis-sensing abilities.
Zonne began to wonder
if it was a mistake to leave Irisdina and the others in charge, but there was
no one else that Nozomu Bountis was open to but them.
"I shouldn't take
my eyes off of them..."
He couldn't let his
guard down. At first, he planned to simply watch over Nozomu's training. But
now, he was beginning to think that he needed to take further steps.
"I think I'm at
the end of my rope. I may need to inform Jihad-dono and the others and tell
them the details..."
While muttering so,
Zonne turned on his heel and stepped out into the forest. He believed that he
needed to take all the steps he could, to make sure.
