Volume 4 Chapter 8.1
Risking One's Life Till One Burns Up Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
Irisdina looked up in
a daze at the huge towering white wall in front of her and the black
hemispherical object resting behind it.
"What is
this......?"
"City Isolation
Barrier ...... but how?"
"Tima, you know
about this?"
"This is one of
the mechanisms designed to protect Arcazam. This is the same mechanism as the
one that was installed in the martial arts garden, a barrier that is activated
by the power of the earth's veins, but it is not yet completed......"
"Not completed?
What does that mean ...... Hm?"
"Are you two all
right!?"
The sound of multiple
footsteps approached from behind the bewildered pair. When they turned around,
they saw Jihad, Inda, Anri, and Feo running toward them. About twenty guards
followed behind them.
"Why is everyone
here......?"
[I called them here
after I delivered those insolent brats.]
Razward appeared,
scattering green light.
The voice of the
lesser wind spirit looking up at the black hemisphere took on a more serious
tone than ever before.
[This presence,
undoubtedly, is that demonic beast that Shi-jou and Nozomu have defeated
before.]
"Abyss Grief? But
wasn't that demonic beast supposed to have been defeated......?"
[Who knows? But what
we should be thinking about now is not that that beast's resurrection.]
Razward continued
speaking while brushing aside Jihad's doubts.
[First, Shi-jou and
the others are still inside that black hemisphere. Second, the deployed barrier
is beginning to erode.]
Indeed, the white
barrier was flickering erratically and was gradually being chipped away from
where it came into contact with the black hemisphere, which continued to
expand.
[Moreover, through
that black hemisphere, the power of that demonic beast is connected to the
dragon veins of this region. In the worst-case scenario, it could be a repeat
of what happened in the Nebula Forest.]
Upon hearing these
words, Jihad and the others' faces froze.
The Nebula Forest is a
huge dense forest where the elves used to reside. The great spirit that resided
in the great tree at the center of the forest was connected to the dragon veins
of the land, making it an impregnable fortress against foreign enemies.
However, during the
great invasion, the great spirit, which was the cornerstone of the fortress,
was defeated and the fortress fell. Since then, it has been a home for demonic
beasts.
It is said that the
fall of this forest was one of the main reasons why the Great Invasion of 20
years ago spread throughout the continent, and even now it remains a major
hurdle in the recovery of the lost land.
Such a tragedy is
about to happen again. It was only natural for Jihad and the others' faces to
turn pale.
"In that case,
there is only one option."
"Fadrey-dono......"
At that moment, the
head of the Gloaurum Institution, dressed in a white coat, appeared.
"Before he can
fully connect with the dragon veins, let's blow up the City Isolation Barrier
and destroy everything in it."
Everyone present
gasped at his cold-blooded words.
†
The feeling of being
suspended in midair disappeared. When he opened his eyes, he was met with a
uniformly white ceiling.
"Hmm....... Is this
a hospital room? Ouch, ouch......."
As he twisted his body
to look around, his whole body, including his back, creaked.
Looking out the
window, the Gloaurum Institution's research building could be seen next door. A
short distance away, the Solminati Academy building could also be seen.
"This is, the
medical facility of the Gloaurum Institution, huh....... Ah, right. I was swept
away by the raging stream in the sewers."
Anyway, I need
to find someone. Nozomu put strength into his hands trying to raise his body up.
At that moment, he
noticed that his chest was wet.
"This
is......."
With his fingertips,
Nozomu touched a spot on his coat, which had a different shade of color. A hard
touch returned to the fingertips. As he raised his body, he picked up the
object he touched and held it up. It was the hair ornament that Nozomu had
gifted to Irisdina.
Why is it
here?
With this question in
his mind, a cool touch returned to the palm of his hand. He felt strangely
choked up.
"Good grief,
you're finally awake."
"~!?"
Nozomu was startled by
a voice coming from the side and turned his head. There, standing before him,
was an unexpected figure.
It was Zonne, an old
man with a white beard on his chin. He is just a civilian. Why is a man who runs a strange fortune-telling shop in this hospital
room?
While Nozomu was
flustered by the questions that kept coming to his mind, Zonne picked up
Nozomu's treasured sword, which was propped up on the edge of the hospital
room. He snipped the koiguchi, gazed at the peeking blade, and held it up.
The old man's palm
glowed, and a pale light poured onto [Mumei]'s blade. White source elements. A
primordial power that only a few races, such as spirits, can manipulate. As
Nozomu was surprised by its manifestation, the power that had been flowing into
[Mumei] was rejected and burst apart.
"Hmm, what a
picky little katana you have. It would be nice if it were a little more
flexible......"
The old man sighed as
if he couldn't help it and carelessly tossed [Mumei] to Nozomu.
Nozomu, who
reflexively caught the thrown katana, squinted his eyes doubtfully.
"What did you do
to Shishō's memento......?"
At that moment, an
intense flash of light suddenly burst through the window.
The white light
quickly subsided, but Nozomu was astonished by the next sight he saw through
the window.
In the distance, a
huge white wall and a huge hemispherical object appeared.
It was blacker than
the darkness of night, and gave off a chill.
"What the hell is
that?......"
"This presence. Is
it from that wretched demonic beast? And there's also a hint of that water
spirit. Hmm, things are getting very unusual indeed."
"......Demonic
beast?"
"It's the being
you call the Abyss Grief. It has assimilated with your childhood friend."
"And that white source
elements just now, who-......"
"Who am I? Well,
you already figured that out, no?"
Zonne squinted his
eyes, and white source elements erupted from his body.
A powerful sense of
déjà vu. The image of a giant dragon he had encountered in the wilderness
returned to Nozomu's mind.
"Dragon.........
ugh!?"
[You, you are......!]
Right at that moment,
Tiamat's voice echoed in Nozomu's mind, followed by intense pain that shot
through his entire body. The interference was stronger than ever before. The
pain was so intense that Nozomu involuntarily bent over on the bed, as if his
heart was being torn out of his chest and every bone and muscle in his body was
being ripped to shreds.
"Agh ...... gah
......!"
[Don't get in my way,
human! Let me kill him, let me kill that traitor!]
With a rage that felt
as if he was being struck behind the ear with a club, he instantly lost all
sensation in his body. Tiamat was trying to rip Nozomu's body apart.
"Damn it, shut
the hell ...... up ......."
Nozomu gritted his
teeth and tried desperately to withstand Tiamat's interference. The voice of
the Dragon King was gradually becoming more and more distant.
When the voice faded
away completely, Nozomu finally relaxed his whole body, relieved.
Watching him, Zonne
let out an exclamation of admiration.
"Hou~, you
managed to fend off her interference. As I thought, you are not an ordinary
man."
"So your goal is
this guy that I absorbed, huh......?"
"Correct. Tiamat
killed her own people and became a vengeful adversary of the entire dragon
race, including us white dragons, and because of her unforgivable sins, she was
sealed away......"
That's why the dragon
tribe searched for the abominable dragon that escaped from the seal and would
try to reseal it by any means necessary.
With this possibility
in his mind, Nozomu's face, which was sweating from exhaustion, tensed up.
"Well, don't be
so wary, lad. Indeed, we can't ignore the existence you've absorbed, but we
can't be careless with it, either."
Zonne suddenly reduced
the force he had been exerting in the face of Nozomu, whose face turned blue
while still maintaining a dubious expression.
"What do you
mean......?"
"We have our own
circumstances. Well, for now, I think we should deal with that first."
Seeing Nozomu like
that, Zonne changed the subject and pointed to a black hemisphere outside the
window.
He'd be lying if he
said he wasn't curious about this old man's ...... and, by extension, the
dragon's circumstances.
But he also sensed
that Zonne had no intention of telling him anything about his circumstances.
Despite his light tone, the old man had a cold glint behind his eyes and
refused to talk about Tiamat any further.
Nozomu took one deep
breath to calm his confused mind, and then turned his attention to the black
hemisphere that Zonne was pointing at.
"Is that Ken's
doing?"
"Predatory
Barrier. It melts the body and even the soul of anyone who enters it, and then
absorbs them. The barrier was created by a human being who had assimilated with
that defiled demonic beast. At this rate, it will continue to expand,
eventually taking even the dragon veins as its own power and swallowing all
life in this city."
Just by listening to
this, one can understand how dangerous it is.
In fact, just by
looking at it from afar, Nozomu felt a chill as if bugs were crawling all over
his body.
Meanwhile, the hemisphere
gradually expanded in size and came into contact with the giant white wall.
Sparks began to scatter.
"What about that
white wall......?"
"Hmm, that seems
to be a defensive mechanism of this city utilizing the power of the dragon
veins. But this is not good......"
The wall of light
clashed with the predatory barrier. But when the black hemisphere sank into the
wall of light, it began to erode the wall of light.
"I understand
they want to stop it, but it's having the opposite effect. It's getting
devoured instead...... oi, where do you think you're going, lad?"
"Of course, I'm
going to stop Ken."
As Zonne sighed,
Nozomu turned his back on the old man and was about to leave the hospital room.
Zonne shrugged his shoulders at his actions.
"With your
tattered body and soul? Tiamat's seal, it's slowly weakening, isn't it?"
Hearing Zonne's words,
Nozomu's hand on the door stopped.
The old man's words
were right on the mark. As expected of someone from the most powerful spirit
species.
The pain that consumed
his entire body and the sudden loss of sensation were slowly but surely eroding
Nozomu's body. He himself understood this best. Zonne took Nozomu's silence as
an affirmation and continued.
"What do you
think will happen if you die here? The Dragon King will be resurrected. A
greater disaster will befall this city than that beast could ever cause."
These cold words
confronted Nozomu with a merciless reality.
The existence he had
absorbed. The disaster it would bring. In fact, a short while ago, Nozomu had
been in sync with Tiamat and turned his blade against Irisdina and the others,
forgetting his own self.
At that time, he was
saved by their efforts and a series of miraculous coincidences, but there would
be no guarantee that everything would be okay the next time.
And Tiamat's seal is
slowly beginning to break. The danger of that dragon's power is probably far
greater than when he first used it.
"Your childhood
friends and your friends will all die. Furthermore-......"
"But if I turn
around and run away now, I'll surely regret it."
Still, Nozomu shook
his head at Zonne's advice.
"Whether or not I
will die, if I leave that thing alone, the people I care about will die anyway.
That would be pointless."
With a strong
determination, Nozomu looked back over his shoulder.
Zonne's cold-tinged
eyes widened.
The old man's body
then erupted with an incomparably greater amount of source elements than before.
A torrent of power
that no human body was capable of possessing was directed at a single person.
Curtains were ripped
apart, windowpanes creaked and shrieked. The source elements were slammed onto
him so hard that it was nearly crushing him, causing the floorboards as well as
the hospital bed to be swept up and blown away.
The pressure was so
overbearing that it was reminiscent of death. However, Nozomu was calmly and
objectively looking at the situation around him, even though he had a vision of
a huge gray-white body behind Zonne.
(The windowpanes are
creaking but not broken. I see, he must have put up a barrier before I woke
up......)
If exposed to a storm
of this magnitude, windowpanes would have shattered in an instant. The fact
that this did not happen probably means that Zonne himself did not want his
face to be known by the people in this facility.
As a living being,
there is an overwhelming difference in rank. Even when being shown this,
Nozomu's resolve remained unchanged.
On the contrary, he gave
a wry smile to Zonne, who was glaring at him with murderous intent.
"Besides, ......
I've had enough rest already. It's time for me to do some hard work or they'll
be mad at me."
So, please
remove the barrier from this room. At the casual line that seemed to contradict the
killing intent directed at him, Zonne dropped his shoulders and let out a
dismayed sigh, "Haa~.......".
Then he snapped his
fingers. Then the source elements that had enveloped the room disappeared. The
barrier was also lifted, and the hustle and bustle of the facility members
could be heard from the hallway.
"Let me warn you.
If you continue to use her power, eventually you won't be able to keep her
under control. When that happens, you will end up killing those who are
important to you."
Do not forget
this. After saying this, Zonne was enveloped in a white light and vanished.
Judging from his
easygoing behavior, which is in direct contrast to his previous actions, it is
probably true that he does not want to provoke Tiamat. But Nozomu does not know
what his ulterior motives are.
Nozomu shook his head
and switched his attention back to the situation at hand.
Now is the time to
focus all his energy on the crisis at hand. He puts his hand on his chest and
turns his attention inward.
My body is
still ...... fine. My weapon is fine too. And my mind is calm.
"Alright......!"
He opened his eyes and
ran out into the darkened corridor.
†
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
Aiden Elliott
Edgar M
Elite
Konstantinos Frietchen
Max Kneifel
sergioalf2 .
Swagaraga
[Gold]
B random
DavidA
[Silver]
blue shooting
CoolmanMTD
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Matzar1
Pristia
Sơn Hồ
Anton Lim
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Hikigaya Hachiman
Matias Soto Ramirez
XXX Demon Hunter XXX
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
