Chapter 8 Part 41
Translator : PolterGlast
The passage to Arcazam
opened right after the mirror was shattered.
Nozomu jumped into the
white light and saw hundreds of rooftops spread out below him. He also saw the
huge southern gate and two roads leading to the city of Arcazam.
He had popped up a few
dozen meters above the south gate of Arcazam.
"This, I will die
if I miss my landing..."
He timed his movements
and swung his katana in rapid succession.
Qi technique [Fan
Shaped Sail]
Using the Qi film
produced as a foothold to kill the impact, Nozomu landed on the ground.
Where he landed, Mars
and Feo were staring at Nozomu in surprise.
"What the hell
happened to you, suddenly appearing out of thin air?"
"Well, a few
things happened. Sorry, right now I..."
"You have no
time, right? Can you do something about it?"
Nozomu frowned at
Mars' seemingly serious words, but he continued to move his feet forward.
The destination, of
course, was Shina, who did not respond at all when her best friend called out
to her.
"Nozomu, Shina is
..."
"Leave the rest
to me"
Nozomu gently
entrusted the weeping Mimuru to Tima, and stood in front of Shina.
Shina was staring
blankly into the void, and Nozomu felt anger welling up from within his chest.
"Stay away, you
scourge! Don't touch my great-granddaughter!"
Triforium, the person
who sealed Shina's mind, raised his voice at the appearance of the source of
the problem.
The old elf, whose
spirit magic has been sealed by Rauls, has been separated from Shina, but his
feelings for his great-granddaughter have not wavered.
At the same time, he
expressed his anger toward the source of his great-granddaughter's change.
The old elf said that
his great-granddaughter was very important to him, and yet he tried to force
her to go home by blocking her mind. The anger expressed by the old elf even
after taking such an action was more than enough to arouse Nozomu's indignation.
"Phew..."
He took a deep breath
to calm his anger, which was trying to push away his reason.
The priority now was
not to vent his anger on the old man. It was to release Shina's cage that
sealed her mind. And to help Irisdina, who was on the verge of becoming a
ghoul.
Once again, Nozomu
looked into Shina's eyes. The depths of her eyes, which were blank and
reflected nothing, seemed to shake slightly.
He concentrated his
attention on the spirits surrounding Shina.
The connection between
the spirits that have attached themselves to her and sealed her mind was so
strong that Nozomu felt as if stiff vines were wrapping around her whole body
and wrapping her in them.
(To rip off the
spirits who have made such a strong contract, I need to ...)
Nozomu could perceive
the spirits, but he could not communicate with them. This was because he was
lacking in the necessary understanding of the spirits.
Then, there would be
only one thing he could do. Nozomu, with determination, put his hand on the
chains that bind him.
Tiamat's element. The
spirits were terrified of this foreign and heretical power that was tainted
with hatred. With this power, it might be possible to scatter the spirits that
sealed Shina's mind.
But at the same time,
it was an act that would completely expose Nozomu's true identity, which he had
kept hidden until now.
There were still
uninvolved civilians and clueless guards around him.
But he could think of
no other way to help this girl than to break the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
Shina might not have
wanted Nozomu to commit such an act. Even so, Nozomu did not hesitate.
"You have helped
me many times before. So this time ... it's my turn to help you."
With all his might, he
ripped off the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
*Bang*
Along with the sound
of the chain shattering, at the same time, a huge amount of elements began to
gush out of Nozomu's body.
(~ !?)
Tiamat's elements
suddenly began to gush forth, whirling and soaring into the sky.
The spirits that had
enveloped Shina fell into a panic due to the outburst of such mighty power, and
they all fled at once.
"Aa..."
Light returned to
Shina's eyes, which had been empty. The cage that had been confining her was
broken, and along with it, her mind, which had been sealed up, was also
released.
As light returned to
her eyes, her cheeks also turned vermilion.
"Thank
goodness..."
"You
fool..."
"Yeah, I guess
so. But you know how I am, don't you?"
Even though she was
saying that he was a fool, her heart was pounding and her face was burning up.
He's back, the one
she's been longing for. The face of the person she had longed to meet, the face
of the person she loved.
Although she had been
so determined to meet him, just by seeing him like this, her resolve and
determination disappeared from her mind.
And she thought he is
a cunning person after all.
"... -I need your
help."
"It's okay, I
know. Let's go."
He needs her help.
While interrupting his words in mid-sentence, Shina smiled.
Now that the
Soul-Sealing Chains] have been broken, words were not necessary to know his
heart, which was connected by the blood-covenant ritual.
No, even without such
a thing, she knew what he would do after this.
"Mars, I'll leave
the rest here to you."
"Wait-, oi!"
Before Mars could
reply, Nozomu took Shina in his arms and started running with all his might.
The impact blasted off
the ground as they sped down the road leading from the south gate to the
commercial district.
Then, as soon as they
reached the center of the city, they leapt. Using the roofs of the lined up houses
as footholds, he headed straight for the Francilt mansion.
The people of the city
look up at the sky in surprise as Nozomu accelerated with a shockwave and a
roaring sound.
And then, seeing
Nozomu sprinting at full speed while scattering an enormous amount of elements,
they were immensely surprised.
With this, Nozomu's
true identity was completely exposed, but he didn't care one bit about that.
"... Did you
notice?"
Shina, who was being
held in Nozomu's arms, murmured in a whisper. It was obvious that the words
were referring to the meaning of the blood covenant ritual.
"Well,
umm..."
"It's okay. I'm
the one who wanted to do it..."
Indeed, it was for
Nozomu's sake that the ritual was performed, but at the same time, it was what
Shina wanted.
It was a one-sided
contract. Even so, the heat and feelings within her wished to be connected with
him through the blood-covenant ritual.
However, this
one-sided situation had become a source of frustration for her.
"Still, let me
say this. Thank you..."
"… Un."
Nozomu's words gently
wiped away the last of the lingering frustration.
The elf girl who
finally let out all her feelings, smiled broadly and laid her body on Nozomu's
chest, as if she had entrusted her entire self to him.
"Phew~!"
Nozomu, blasting
through Arcazam, quickly ran through the commercial district and reached the
central park. It was only take a few dozen seconds of time.
However, the power of
Tiamat, which was released, surely accumulated damage deep inside Nozomu's
body.
He had to reach the
Francilt mansion as soon as possible.
At that moment,
countless magic bullets attacked Nozomu from in front of his sprinting body.
"~ !"
Immediately, he leaped
to the side and moved away from the trajectory of the storm of magic bullets.
The magic bullets came
down like a shower, crushing the stone floor and scattering debris.
"W-, what!?"
"This is
probably..."
"It's been a
while, Nozomu-dono."
"It is you after
all, Rugato-san."
The person who
appeared was an old butler with a monocle. It was Rugato, Vitora's trusted
confidant who had once tried to recover Somia's soul and the furnace.
The vampire butler,
dressed in his crisp butler's uniform, was waiting for them on the roof of a
building just as they were about to enter the administrative district from the
central park.
Perhaps he had been
ordered by Vitora to stop Nozomu in his tracks.
Nozomu frowned at
Rugato, who stood looking down from the top of the building.
There is no time to
waste. Even amidst all this, Irisdina's time for life is surely running out,
and Nozomu's body is also being eroded by Tiamat's power.
But it will be
extremely difficult to break through this old man.
He is a powerful enemy
who boasts of his mighty magic power as a vampire and his ability to manipulate
ten magics with the fingers of both hands at the same time.
Having fought him in
the past, Nozomu is someone who has Rugato's prowess literally etched onto his
body.
Rugato raised both of
his hands and intensified his magical power.
His outstretched
fingers move with the subtle precision of a skilled pianist, forming multiple
magic circles in the air in the blink of an eye.
It's coming!
The moment Nozomu
prepared himself, and the magic circle that Rugato had formed lit up, ... a
powerful wind rushed towards the old butler's side.
"Hmm~!"
The spiraling winds
expanded their jaws and swallowed Rugato as they gouged out the top of the
building.
The debris that was
swallowed and blown away by the fangs of the torrential wind was crushed to pieces
in the blink of an eye.
It was a technique
that Nozomu had seen before.
"Good grief,
don't go away without listening to me. It took me quite the effort to catch up
with you."
"Mars, you,
how..."
When Nozomu heard a
voice along with a sigh, he turned around to see Mars, who was supposed to have
been left behind at the south gate.
That's impossible. To
begin with, Nozomu is now in the state of releasing the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
The abnormality of his
physical ability is exceptional even among S-ranks.
"Well, I've got a
little secret. But you see, you're running out of time. So leave the old man to
me, and get going."
Mars waved his hand
and urged Nozomu to go ahead.
There were so many
questions he wanted to ask, but it was also true that he didn't have a second
to spare right now. While swallowing down the questions that were rising in his
throat, Nozomu rushed toward the Francilt mansion.
"I won't let
you."
"That's my
line."
Rugato fired five
magic bullets to intercept Nozomu, who was trying to go on ahead, but Mars
intervened in the line of fire of those magic bullets.
The great sword
wielded with a single left hand was enveloped in a blade of wind, and with a
roar, it shattered all of Rugato's magic bullets with a single stroke.
"~ !"
Rugato's normally
nonchalant expression suddenly turned serious when he saw Mars manifesting
physical abilities equivalent to that of the boy who had once one-sidedly
cornered him.
"That power. That's
something you didn't have before. How..."
"It's not just
Nozomu who is growing, you know."
Mars abruptly removed
the cloth that held his right hand in place.
What was visible was a
tattoo that ran from his shoulder to his upper arm. It is a formation that
imitates the wind swirling in the atmosphere, and is used to control the
magical energy raging in the air through the magic and Qi combination
technique.
It was a more advanced
version of the technique that Tom had once carved on Mars' gauntlet. A technique
that was developed with Tima's help.
"That's... a
fusion of magic and Qi techniques..."
"Let's go. I got
beaten up pretty badly before. This is a revenge match."
With Mars' relentless
training and with Tima and Tom's control techniques, a fully controlled
magic-Qi combination technique is activated.
The physical
strengthening of both magic and Qi techniques is activated, which drastically
increases its effectiveness.
Rugato abandoned all
restraint and launched his own magic at Mars, who was enveloped in a superior
Qi comparable to that of Nozomu Bountis, the man who had once brought him down.
===================================
Irisdina, whose neck
was being infused with Vitora's blood, desperately endured the pain running
down her neck that felt like an insect crawling around inside her body.
However, the power of
Vitora's blood, which eroded inside her body, swept away her resistance like a
drifting fallen leaf, and eroded her body.
"Ughhhh!"
While letting out a
cry of anguish, Irisdina bit her lip and tried to keep herself conscious.
The condition for
becoming a ghoul is that the person must succumb to the magic power injected by
the vampire.
In other words, the
moment Irisdina faints is the moment her consciousness is defeated by Vitora's
power, and the moment she is reduced to a ghoul.
"Ane-sama!"
Somia, who was by
Irisdina's side, raised her hand and poured her magic power into Irisdina's
body. She was probably trying to suppress the effects of Vitora's magic power
even if only a little.
However, even the
magic power that Somia poured into Irisdina's body was instantly smeared by
Vitora's blood.
"It's useless. In
the first place, there is no way that such insignificant magic power can stop
me."
(Mother! ...)
Somia called her late
mother's name in her heart.
She has always been
the one who was being protected. That was why this time she wanted to save her
sister, who had protected her all her life.
As if in response to
her words, a pure white shining light, different from that of magic power,
overflowed from her body.
"Hou~..."
What overflowed from
Somia's body was a pure white radiance of elements. Pure soul power.
The power of the magic
tool that her mother once used to dedicate her soul to her youngest daughter,
who was about to be born stillborn. And it was the root cause of this whole
affair.
Somia had begun to use
the power of the magic tool that had saved her life in exchange for her
mother's life, to save her sister's life.
"Come to think of
it, you were assimilated with the [Furnace of Spiritual Flame], weren't you? I
see, then it makes sense that you can use the elements, which stem from the
power of the soul."
Vitora stroked her
slender chin and watched with amusement as Somia subconsciously began to use
the power of the magic tool that she had assimilated with herself.
"Though that's
still not enough."
But even so, that was
not enough to push back Vitora's power.
The black vein-like
streaks of foliage spreading from Irisdina's neck, though slowing down
slightly, still spread from her neck to her face and then to her body.
And, perhaps under the
influence of the encroaching magic power, Irisdina's hair, which had been plain
white, gradually turned silver. It was as if she was taking on the image of the
parent, Vitora.
"Ane-sama, hang
in there!"
"Ku-,
uuuuu!"
Irisdina also
desperately fought back when she heard Somia's encouragement. But contrary to
her desire, her will slowly faded. Her vision faded to black and her hearing
grew dim.
And finally, she was
left with only a needle-like hole in her vision, and her vision was completely
stained black.
Resignation crept into
Irisdina's mind.
If she became a
complete ghoul, the first victim would be Somia.
Suicide. With this
word surfacing in her mind, Irisdina put her hand on the rapier she carried at
her waist.
In front of her
sister, her father, and her maid, who had been like a mother to her. She tried
to pull out the rapier while apologizing to Nozomu in the back of her mind.
"Really, it can't
be helped."
At that moment, a
voice sounded, strangely out of place in this tense situation. The storm that
had been raging subsided, and a slight breeze of crimson calmed it.
"Lisa-kun..."
Irisdina's tiny bit of
vision caught sight of the red-haired girl.
How long had she been
there? Lisa Hounds leaned against the open reception room door, staring at Irisdina.
"… Who?"
"Ah, I'm a
classmate and a love rival of that big idiot over there."
Vitora voiced her
suspicion at the sudden intruder. On the other hand, Lisa walked into the
reception room with light steps, pointing at Irisdina, who was suffering.
The magic power
overflowing from Vitora's body still continued to surge, and its momentum had
not diminished at all. The torrent of power that surged through Vitora's body
would cause the weak-minded to faint just by being exposed to it.
The fact that Lisa
maintained her impudent attitude even in the face of such intimidating power
was a source of amusement for Vitora.
"Don't mind me.
Frankly speaking, I have no interest in getting involved in the affairs of the
Francilt and Waziart families."
"Hou~, then why
did you come here in the first place?"
"As I said
earlier. The woman over there is my love rival. But still, it would make me
feel bad if she were to die, and if she dies, she will blame herself. That's a
little unacceptable..."
Lisa walked steadily to
the center of the reception room and stood in front of the cowering Irisdina.
Somia, who had been
frantically giving her sister magic powers, also looked up at her with a look
of amazement.
"Lisa-san..."
"You don't have
to worry about it. This is just me paying my debt."
Saying so, Lisa held
up her hand in the same manner as Somia and began to pour her magic power into
Irisdina.
The erosion rate of
the black veins on Irisdina's body became even slower.
"So you think
your level of magic power is going to help her?"
"No way. At best,
I can only stall for time. To put it bluntly, there is almost no chance."
Although Lisa was
giving her magic power to Irisdina, she herself didn't think she could stop
Vitora's power.
Just by looking at
her, she felt fear welling up from within her heart. Although she looked like a
human being, Lisa felt as if she was facing a natural disaster, and a sense of
oppression was assaulting her mind and body.
Besides, even though
she managed to suppress it somewhat, it was only a matter of time before
Irisdina turned into a ghoul.
The black veins were
already spreading all over her body. Before long, Irisdina would lose all sense
of reason and be reduced to a monster that simply attacked anything that moved
in its vicinity.
"But ... that guy
is a man of his word."
Even so, she had
something to believe in. Even when her heart was broken, her childhood friend
was still there to fulfill his promise to her to the end.
*Bang!*
The next moment, a
huge column of light appeared outside the window.
A five-colored light
rose up. A manifestation of power of incomparable magnitude that could be
clearly perceived even from a distance.
Vitora's eyes widen
even more than before, followed by a full smile that was both fascinating and
terrifying.
"Rugato."
"Ha..."
The old vampire butler
nodded in response to his Lord's call.
After transforming his
entire body into a swarm of bats, he broke through the window and flew away
toward the rising five-colored light.
With the squeaks and
cries of countless bats at her back, Lisa looked down at Irisdina once more.
"Come on, be
strong. If you lose to her, I will meddle with you, no questions asked."
Lisa directed a
provocative smile at Irisdina.
What's wrong? Is this
your limit? She taunted her with her upturned mouth and a taunting look.
"And then I will
say to you, who has turned into a hideous ghoul, Sorry, Nozomu is now
mine!"
"Don't screw ...
with me ..."
With one of the
greatest provocations of all time, her vision, which had been painted all black,
became clear at once.
Forgetting the intense
pain that was coursing through her body, the silver-haired girl howled at the
red-haired girl looking down at her.
"I won't lose to
you!"
"Then be strong,
sweetie! If you make Nozomu sad, I'll go to hell and kick your ass!"
The next moment, with
a roar, the walls of the reception room were cut open, and a shadow clad in
rainbow-colored light flew into the room.
