Volume 7
Chapter 7
A spinning vision and a floating sensation as if in water.
While looking at the
countless white lines running before his eyes again, Nozomu braced himself for
the impact that was sure to follow.
But the subsequent
development was slightly different from what Nozomu had expected.
The innumerable white
lines that had been flowing in one direction changed their course and began to
fly around randomly in his vision.
"Huh? Something's
strange. The atmosphere seems different from before..."
At the same time,
Nozomu's vision began to flicker irregularly like a sandstorm, and a ringing in
his ears like a quickening pulse began to be heard.
The next moment, a
sudden impact assaulted Nozomu's entire body.
"Wh-What!?"
The rate of descent
increased sharply, and Nozomu's body was pulled downwards.
The interval of the
irregular flashes of light shortened, and the ringing in his ears gradually
grew stronger.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
A scream escaped
Nozomu's mouth at the sudden change in speed.
The wind that slammed
against his entire body was beginning to make him feel pain.
Nozomu desperately
gritted his teeth and continued to endure the pain, but more than that, he was
captivated by the countless scenes that passed by like shooting stars.
Scenes, as if cut out
by a picture frame, crossed in front of Nozomu.
The figure of Tiamat
growing up. The young dragon, who had been a child, gradually grew beautiful
scales and wings along with her comrades.
Tiamat and Michael,
snuggled together under a star-filled night sky. The many races gathering at
the feet of the two dragons. And the cityscape that was steadily growing
larger.
Even without knowing
the details, he could easily feel that the two of them were doing well.
However, that thought
was completely denied the next moment.
An impact ran through
Nozomu's falling body.
"Guuh!"
While twisting his
face in the intense pain that ran through his entire body, he checked his own
body, but his limbs moved properly.
He could feel the
ground on the front of his body. It seemed he was lying face down.
"What in the
world..."
Suppressing the pain
that ran through the joints of his body, Nozomu sat up, and was stunned.
A devastated land
spread before Nozomu's eyes.
On the smoldering
earth, not a single blade of grass, not a trace of an insect could be seen, and
in some places, red-hot, glass-like crystals were thrust up like icicles.
Stone ruins were
scattered here and there, and the charred corpses of living creatures were
emitting a pungent, foul smell.
Thick clouds swirled
in the sky, and a thunderclap like a scream tore through the atmosphere.
And what captivated
Nozomu's eyes more than anything was the figure of a single black dragon
standing in the ruins.
No, it was difficult
to call it a black dragon anymore.
Scales had peeled off
from all over its body, and the blood that had flowed out was flowing like a
red river on the land.
And at the feet of
that dragon, four torn dragons were lying.
A yellow dragon,
collapsed with countless holes in its body; a green dragon, its neck twisted in
an unnatural direction; a flame dragon, burst from the inside; a water dragon,
its entire body burned away.
Particles of light
danced from their corpses and flowed into the stunned, standing Tiamat.
And on the back of the
black dragon standing in the wasteland of death, four new, misshapen wings of
different colors had already grown.
"Ugh..."
At the overly gruesome
scene, Nozomu desperately suppressed the nausea that was welling up.
The dragons lying at
Tiamat's feet were undoubtedly the dragons who had been her friends.
"If this is
Tiamat's memory, what in the world..."
Ignoring Nozomu's
confusion, Tiamat let out a cry of anguish.
"Gugugu,
gigaa..."
A slurred, creaking
sound leaked from the black dragon's mouth.
While gritting its
teeth, with its eyes wide open, Tiamat looked up at the heavens.
Its sawtooth-like rows
of teeth were exposed, and its milky-white eyeballs were glaring at the sky.
"WHY,
HOW... COULD THIS..."
Mixed with the rain, a
single drop of blood-red tears flowed from Tiamat's eyes.
The hollow voice that
leaked out was drowned out by the sound of the rain and disappeared without
reaching anyone.
A scene filled with
sorrow and a sense of emptiness. But the next moment, Tiamat's face twisted in
pain again.
"Gugigigigigi!!"
Along with a seeping
five-colored light, Tiamat's entire body stiffened.
The swirling particles
of light pulsed and began to rampage irregularly.
At the same time, new
blood gushed from its wounds, dyeing the dragon's entire body a blackish color
again.
Tiamat, writhing in
agony. Every time the dragon's giant body thrashed, the crystals that had grown
on the ground shattered.
"Tet..."
In the midst of the
scattering crystals, Michael flew in front of Tiamat.
His body, covered in
pure white dragon scales, was glittering in the scattering crystals.
"Mika-el...?"
Tiamat murmured
Michael's name as if clinging to him.
Confirming the figure
of her beloved, a color of relief and reason returned to her eyes.
But at her, Michael's
gaze of rage pierced through.
"What,
what have you done! Do you understand what you've just done!?"
"NO, IT'S
NOT... I wanted to see you, Michael. BUT, Regnant and the others wouldn't
listen to me. They tried to stop me. I, I..."
"Then
what are those wings! Why are those wings growing on you!"
Michael's sharp gaze
was directed at the four new wings of different colors growing on Tiamat's
back.
The corpses of their
friends scattered at her feet eloquently told of what had happened in this
place.
But Nozomu noticed
that the conversation between Tiamat and Michael was slightly off.
Michael, trembling
with anger, and Tiamat, desperately trying to convey something.
"Michael,
listen, listen to what I have to say... Please, I'm begging you..."
"Listen
to you!? You're telling me to listen to the one who killed Oru and the
others!?"
An enraged Michael and
a Tiamat desperately trying to convey her words. But her voice did not reach
the trembling with anger Michael.
The mismatched
conversation between the two was becoming more and more disjointed.
At that moment,
Tiamat's eyes widened. Upon closer inspection, a white feather ornament was
attached to Michael's ear.
An mystical earring,
with gold accents here and there, that closely resembled the membrane of a
white dragon.
The eyes of Tiamat,
which should have been filled with relief, were dyed with a color of despair.
"Michael,
so it was a lie after all... That we'd be together forever..."
"A lie!?
After destroying Oru and the others, this precious place, how can you say such
a thing!? You're the one who broke the promise first, aren't you!?"
The fatal words
pierced Tiamat's chest deeply, and tore a fatal hole in her spirit.
"A-Aaaaaaaah!"
"Kuh!?"
Along with a scream, a
five-colored power was explosively released from Tiamat's body.
Michael, while being
blown away by the clashing, multicolored power, spread his wings and somehow
regained his posture.
On the other hand,
Tiamat, who had released the fierce power, had a complete change from her
previous vigor. She hung her head and fell silent as if dead.
At that moment, a
dignified voice echoed in the area.
"That's
enough, Tiamat."
Michael, who reacted
to that voice, looked around to see that dozens of dragons had surrounded the
area.
All six species of
dragons, clad in scales that were thicker and more aged than Michael's, had
flocked to this place in a large group.
Among them, six of the
oldest-looking dragons stepped forward. They were probably the chiefs of their
clans.
They were all staring
at Tiamat in a daze, observing her condition.
"EVERYONE,
EVERYONE. YOU DECEIVED ME, LIED TO ME..."
"I'm
surprised. To think she still has her ego in this state..."
The old white dragon's
eyes widened at Tiamat's state.
Dragons, being a
spirit species, are originally dyed in the color of the attribute they govern,
so they cannot inherit power from dragon species other than their own.
If they were to take
it in, the different elemental essences would interfere with each other within
their own body, and as a result, it is normal for their body to collapse along
with their soul.
Naturally, if one were
tormented by such pain, their ego should not remain.
However, the black
dragon in front of them was barely maintaining her consciousness while having
taken in four different powers.
"However,
she won't last long anyway. Wouldn't it be better to put her out of her
misery?"
"Why!
After she killed my son, why is there a need to show such mercy! She can just
disappear, soul and all, while tasting the pain of her body and soul rotting
away!"
"But if
we leave her as she is, the power this little girl has taken in will be
released indiscriminately. If that happens, the damage will be incomparable to
what it is now."
One of the yellow
dragons proposed to put her out of her misery on the spot, but the enraged red
dragon interrupted.
And as if to admonish
the red dragon, who was on the verge of losing himself in anger, the blue
dragon voiced a bitter complaint.
As discussions about
Tiamat's punishment raged here and there, Tiamat was hanging her head, spitting
out words of resentment in a slurred tone.
"HOW DARE
YOU, HOW DARE YOU..."
In the midst of this,
the old white dragon stepped forward.
Among the dragons that
had surrounded Tiamat, an old dragon with an overwhelming presence.
The years he had
accumulated would probably be incomparable to not only Tiamat and Michael but
also the other clan chiefs.
As if affected by the
old dragon's presence, the other dragons, who had been engaged in a heated
discussion until just before, all fell silent.
"Michael,
move."
"Father..."
"...Now
that it has come to this, we cannot let this girl live. Using a secret art, I
will shatter this girl's soul and return her body and soul to the world.
Even if she is
the dragon who killed your friends, you would not be able to kill her. Stand
back."
The old dragon, who
was called father by Michael, made his young son stand back and glanced at the
hanging-headed Tiamat.
"Gugugu...
gi-gigii..."
"To think
it would come to this... I think it's pitiful, and I can't help but feel some
sympathy... but forgive me."
For a moment, a color
of emotion dwelled in the old dragon's eyes. However, Nozomu could not fathom
the emotion that dwelled in those eyes.
Was it anger, pity, or
sorrow? Had something so significant happened? That old dragon harbored so many
emotions in its eyes.
In the midst of a
situation where no one opened their mouths, the old dragon looked up at the
heavens and opened its mouth.
A tsunami of white
shining elemental essence gushed out from the old one's body.
The gushed-out
enormous elemental essence swirled and converged, and its spearhead was aimed
at the pitiful black dragon.
At that moment,
Tiamat, who had been hanging her head, slowly raised her head.
A gaze dyed with
hatred was directed at the dragons dancing in the sky above.
A cornea dyed a blood-red.
In the pupil at the center of the eye, a sticky, five-colored mud was
squirming.
"EVERYTHING
SHOULD JUST BE DESTROYED..."
"What!?"
"This
is...!"
As if in response to
Tiamat's hatred, a five-colored light converged on the dragon's body.
Just by the elemental
essence gathering, the ground at Tiamat's feet was scraped away, and the
atmosphere began to scream.
The next moment, an
explosive and violent storm of destruction was released.
"Muuuh!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Towards the storm of destruction
that bared its fangs, the old dragon unleashed a full-powered blow.
The moment the two
clashed, the exploded six-colored light swallowed all of Nozomu's vision.
Nozomu couldn't help
but shield his face with his hand, but even the light leaking through the gaps
in his fingers was violently burning his retinas.
"Don't
look!"
In the blinding light
that burned everything, Nozomu heard Tiamat's scream.
The next moment, the
sensation of his entire body being burned suddenly disappeared.
"Guh! Where is
this..."
He opened his eyes
while wincing at the pain running through his body.
Sparks were still
running through his vision, but Nozomu could understand where he was standing
now.
Hardened plants and a
dark gray earth.
Nozomu had returned to
that glass grassland for a third time.
But unlike before, a
roaring flame was spreading on the ground before him. This was probably the
place he had been aiming for.
And a mountain-like
giant body, with its six wings spread, was looking down at Nozomu with a dazed
expression.
"You... how did
you get in here!"
"Who knows. I
just found myself here, so I don't know the reason."
Tiamat's voice grew
rough at Nozomu's appearance in this place.
Nozomu himself was
also surprised inside, but he suppressed his swirling astonishment and feigned
calmness.
The two remained
silent. Only the sound of crackling embers dominated the grassland.
In the midst of this,
the one who broke the silence first was the intruder, Nozomu.
"Was that... your
past...?"
Gulping, and letting
out a deep breath, Nozomu slowly questioned Tiamat.
Tiamat's hostility
grew even stronger.
"Detestable...
Humans, dragons, everything!"
"...Humans? Were
humans involved in that scene?"
At Nozomu's words,
Tiamat frowned and snorted roughly.
"What you saw was
only a part of my memory. As always, your cunning is like a thief's..."
"You are..."
The light of disgust
that dwelled in Tiamat's eyes. Nozomu felt a sense of familiarity in that color.
But before Nozomu
could speak, Tiamat raised her tree-like foreleg.
Nozomu hurriedly
circulated ki throughout his body and leaped backward with all his might.
The giant dragon's
foreleg was driven into the burning glass grassland, and the shockwave that ran
through the ground mowed down the plants along with Nozomu.
"Kuh... Wait! What's
your reason for seeking revenge...!"
While being tossed
about by the shockwave, Nozomu somehow managed to break his fall and regain his
posture.
However, Tiamat
quickly spread her wings and generated countless light bullets in the air,
shooting them all at once at the hated enemy before her.
"Damn it! At
least listen to me!"
At Tiamat, who would
not listen, Nozomu also spat out a complaint and tore off the chains that bound
him.
He leaped forward,
concentrating the enormous power that had filled his entire body in an instant
into his feet. With the light bullets that were landing one after another
behind him as his backdrop, he closed the distance to Tiamat at once.
He released the guard
of his sheathed katana and drew it. At the same time, the imbued ki blade bared
its fangs at Tiamat.
"Useless!"
However, it was still
not enough to cut through Tiamat's tough scales. Nozomu's "Phantom"
was repelled by the surface of the scales, and the scattered particles of ki
danced futilely in the air.
And as if in return,
Tiamat swung her large, tree-like tail at Nozomu.
But Nozomu had already
anticipated that. He had been beaten down in his dreams so many times. He had
understood long ago that his long-range attacks were completely ineffective.
"Hmph!"
Nozomu leaped to dodge
the approaching tail of Tiamat and at the same time, closed the distance to
Tiamat at once.
His target was
Tiamat's long neck.
That dragon was
currently facing backward from the motion of having swept its tail. At this
chance, he would close the distance at once and cut it directly with his katana.
But just as Nozomu was
about to swing his katana, a strong impact hit him from the side.
"Gaah!"
The air leaked from
Nozomu's lungs at the sheer impact, and then his body was slammed to the
ground.
What in the world...
Faster than Nozomu
could come up with an answer to his question, a strong chill assaulted him.
"!"
At the killing intent
that made the hair on his body stand on end, Nozomu threw his body to the side
without a second thought. He squeezed out all his strength from his arms and
ki, trying to take as much distance as he could from that spot.
And a further impact
assaulted him.
"Guuuuh!"
Along with the impact,
the ground was shattered, and Nozomu's body was thrown into the air.
In his hazy vision,
what jumped into Nozomu's eyes was Tiamat's tail, driven deep into the ground.
"Did you think I
couldn't read such a simple thought!?"
The first blow from
Tiamat's tail was merely a feint. She had swung it in a sweep to limit Nozomu's
movements, and with the returning blow, she had intercepted the defenseless Nozomu
in the air. And she had intended to finish him off with the downward blow.
Having had her
finishing blow dodged, Tiamat inwardly clicked her tongue, but due to the
reckless evasion, Nozomu had not yet stood up and was wide open.
"Perish! Along
with that detestable chain!"
A giant fireball
appeared in Tiamat's mouth.
Nozomu also, while his
whole body was numb from the previous blow, somehow managed to stand up.
However, it seemed he
could no longer evade.
Tiamat shot the flame
of chaos.
"Kuh! Ooooooooooh!"
With a sharp cry, he
swung his katana down.
A giant blade of ki
dug into Tiamat's fireball and was unilaterally canceled out.
But still, Nozomu did
not avert his eyes from the fireball that was closing in on him.
Ripples spread before
his eyes.
And just as the mass
of scorching heat was about to swallow his body, his vision went black, and his
body disappeared from that place.
***
When the blacked-out
vision regained its color, what jumped into Nozomu's eyes was a pure white
ceiling.
"Where is this?"
With his blurred
thoughts not yet settled, Nozomu sat up with a start.
What he could see
around him were inorganic white walls, the same as the ceiling, and a modest
cupboard. And only a vase placed on a nearby stand. What's more, there was not
a single window on the wall.
"That was... What
in the world..."
Tiamat's sorrow and
hatred that he had just seen, and her despair and rage. That was undoubtedly
the dragon's past.
While remembering
Tiamat's past, Nozomu felt his chest ache.
However, there was no
answer to be found by thinking about it now.
For the time being,
Nozomu shook his head, changed his focus, and tried to get out of bed. At that
moment, Nozomu noticed a strange feeling of wrongness.
"Hmm?"
Although there was
nothing that could hold water around, the hand he had placed on the blanket
returned a faintly damp sensation.
"It's wet.
And..."
When he gently placed
his hand on his lips, a somehow comforting scent tickled his nostrils. That
strangely tightened Nozomu's heart.
"Anyway, I should
get out of here... Ouch, ouch, ouch! My body is stiff as a board."
Temporarily putting
the water stains and the lingering scent on his lips to the back of his mind,
Nozomu tried to get up from the bed.
However, his body,
which had been bedridden for days, had become completely stiff and creaked in
protest.
Nozomu, with tears in
his eyes from the sudden pain that ran through his entire body, slowly crawled
out of bed.
"Alright. By the
way, where is this? It's not Norn-sensei's house, and it doesn't seem to be the
academy's infirmary either..."
As Nozomu was tilting
his head, the door to the hospital room was opened with a click.
The one who entered
was a female doctor holding a medical chart.
She entered the
hospital room with a somewhat angry look on her face, and her eyes widened when
she saw the sitting Nozomu.
""Ah.""
Their gazes met, and
their voices overlapped.
The two of them stared
at each other with dazed faces for a while, but for the time being, Nozomu
greeted her in a questioning tone.
"H-Hello, good
morning?"
To the tilting-headed
Nozomu, the female doctor walked over with sharp footsteps and pushed him back
onto the bed.
"Gueh!"
She had
unintentionally put too much strength into her arms, and Nozomu let out a
pained voice.
"U-Um. Wh-What in
the world is..."
"Just be quiet!
First, I have to contact Jihad-sensei... No, a detailed examination comes
first, I suppose?"
Ignoring the female
doctor, who was confused by the sudden awakening of a comatose patient,
Nozomu's eyes were darting back and forth, not understanding the situation.
"...Eh, eh?"
"Hey! Someone
come here!"
To the female doctor
who was calling for people with a rough voice, Nozomu tried to get a story out
of her, but he was completely ignored and left as he was.
In the ears of the
dazed Nozomu, the sound of clattering footsteps was approaching. Wondering what
it was, he turned his eyes to the hospital room door, and a military police
officer in armor burst in from the door.
"Watch this kid
for a while so he doesn't wander off! I'll contact Jihad-sensei and then
prepare for the examination!"
With a rough tone, the
female doctor told the military police officer to watch Nozomu and rushed out
of the hospital room in a panic.
While looking at the
door that closed with a loud bang, Nozomu could only stare at the scene before
him in a daze.
"Wh-What's going
on?"
"You still don't
understand the situation?"
"Y-Yes. I just
woke up..."
The military police
officer spoke to the dazed Nozomu and explained the simple circumstances.
"Oh, is that so?
Actually, you've been bedridden for nearly two weeks."
"Two
weeks!?"
"Yes, it seems
you were in a comatose state. I don't know how it came to this, though..."
From what he heard,
this military police officer knew almost nothing about Nozomu's circumstances.
What had happened to
Lisa and Ken? Were Iris and the others okay? What had happened to that demonic
beast?
Various worries
crossed Nozomu's mind.
He was seized by an
impulse to get the story out of the military police officer in front of him,
but since it included quite a bit of sensitive content, he hesitated to speak
so easily.
As Nozomu was lost in
thought for a while with his hand on his chin, rough footsteps were heard from
the hallway again.
"Hmm? Are they
back already?"
Footsteps even louder
than the previous military police officer's were echoing all the way to
Nozomu's hospital room.
Nozomu thought the
female doctor had returned, but his eyes widened at the sight that jumped into
his view.
"Nozomu!"
"A... Iris!?
And... Tima-san?"
Standing at the
entrance of the hospital room was his glossy black-haired classmate and her
best friend. The eyes of the girl, whose eyes were red and swollen for some
reason, were directed straight at Nozomu.
"Umm, good
morning? I don't know if it's morning, but... bubeh!"
Thinking he was going
to be scolded and have something thrown at him again, Nozomu couldn't help but
brace himself upon seeing Iris's figure.
However, the next
moment, a curtain of black hair suddenly spread before his eyes.
Next, a fierce impact
assaulted Nozomu's body, and at the same time, he was enveloped in the soft
sensation of Irisdina.
"Dwaaaah! I-Iris.
What, what is it!? What are you doing!?"
Nozomu, who had
hurriedly caught the leaping Irisdina, was in a state of confusion.
Ignoring Nozomu's
confusion, Irisdina hugged him with all her might.
Assaulted by the soft
sensation and the suffocating feeling, Nozomu was at a loss, not knowing
whether to be happy or suffocated.
"Uu...
sniff..."
"...Iris, are you
crying?"
But Nozomu's confusion
was drowned out by Irisdina's sobs.
Nozomu's hand
naturally stroked her head.
At her figure, so
unlike her usual dignified self, like a frightened girl, Nozomu was also at a
loss for words.
At that moment, the
door to the hospital room was violently thrown open for a third time.
"Hah, hah,
Nozomu-kun!?"
The person who rushed
into the hospital room this time was Shina.
Perhaps having come in
such a hurry, she was panting, and her cheeks were flushed bright red.
Of course, the reason
her face was flushed was not just because she had run all the way here...
"Ah, Shina.
Good... gueh!"
And a second impact
assaulted Nozomu.
Nozomu let out a
scream again at Shina, who had leaped at him as soon as she entered the room.
"Hey, both of
you! I'm going to fall, I'm going to fall!"
Nozomu had somehow
managed to catch the two of them by firing up his weakened abdominal muscles.
But with the weight on him suddenly increasing, he was on the verge of falling
backward.
Just one more push,
and this precarious balance would collapse at once. And as if foreseeing
Nozomu's anxiety, this time, a cute voice like a kitten's echoed in the
hospital room.
"Nozomu-san!"
The third person who
had rushed into the hospital room was a young angel. Her jet-black eyes, so
similar to her sister's, were moist and were staring straight at Nozomu.
The girl, who had
sniffled with emotion, began to run at full speed towards Nozomu.
"Somia-chan,
h-hold on a second!"
Nozomu hurriedly urged
Somia, who was running at full speed towards him, to stop, but there was no
sign that Somia in question heard him at all.
"Nozomu-sa~n!!"
A leap, and then a
collision.
Nozomu's body, which
had somehow managed to maintain its balance, tilted at once, and despite his
desperate resistance, the bodies of the four rolled off the bed.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
Nozomu, who had fallen
on his back with a thud, but with the added weight of three more people, the
impact that hit his lungs made him unable to breathe.
And to top it off, the
blanket that Nozomu had been using was overturned and came to cover the four of
them.
"Kyaa! It's
completely dark!"
"Ngh! Hey, where
are you touching!?"
"Nozomu,
Nozomu...!"
"E-Everyone.
D-Don't... struggle, please. I-I can't... breathe..."
Three people
struggling in the darkness, a squirming Nozomu. It was as if the gloomy
atmosphere that had been cooped up in this hospital room until just recently
was a lie.
Of course, for now, a
somewhat bittersweet atmosphere was filling the air...
"It's nice... to
be young..."
The guard was watching
the four of them, who were making a racket, with a somewhat envious look.
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