Volume 8 Chapter 35
In the dead of night, deep in the forest, Nozomu was abusing his body, just as he had when training with his master. He ran silently, like a fox or a cat, over the rough terrain where an ordinary person would have their feet caught on tree roots or stumble on stones within just a few steps. Without undoing his own chains, Nozomu ran for nearly two hours without being noticed by the forest's magic beasts. When he arrived at his goal, Shino's hut, he drew the katana from his waist and began to repeat his forms. In front of the hut, which had been destroyed in the battle with the Corpse Dragon, Nozomu, cloaking his blade and body in ki, continued to draw flashes in the night darkness. Over and over again. How long had he been swinging? Eventually, Nozomu, having surpassed his physical limits, dropped the unsheathed katana and collapsed onto his back.
"Hah, hah, hah..."
Ragged breaths spilled from his mouth, and sweat
flowed endlessly. White steam rose from his heated body, melting into the cold
winter air. A sense of fatigue, like the times he had immersed himself in
training to escape, gently enveloped his entire body. It was a nostalgic
feeling.
"It's been a while... since I pushed myself this
far alone."
Amidst the fatigue that made his body feel like lead,
Nozomu spoke to himself. Since becoming a third-year, Nozomu had rarely trained
alone. The new bonds he had formed and the warmth he had regained had allowed
him to forget his former solitude. But now, he needed time to think alone.
"I'm a Dragonslayer...
no, that's not it."
By pushing his body to its limit alone, he cleared his
distracting thoughts. Feeling the cold of the winter earth on his back, he sank
into contemplation. He had acknowledged the self that had once run away,
settled his past, and now, he had to think about the future.
"The thing... I want to do..."
The reason he couldn't accept Lisa's confession. The
thing he himself must do, the thing he had decided to accomplish. But no matter
how much he thought, the answer wouldn't come. As if searching for a light in
the darkness, he recalled the dreams of those close to him.
"Iris is to protect Somia-chan. Somia-chan is to
become like Iris."
"Lisa is for adventure, Shina is to take back her
homeland, Anri-sensei is to support her students... Everyone has some kind of
dream."
Only Nozomu had no dream. No goal. Training his power
as a Dragonslayer was not a dream for
him. It was just a duty, an obligation. He had to learn to control it. If he
didn't, he might hurt the people he cared about. And he had hurt them, and had
come close to doing something irreversible. The fact that he had rampaged and
turned his blade on Irisdina and the others had, since Azel's attack, created a
new trauma in his heart, fanning his impatience.
"Hoo..."
But the fatigue from his over-exerted body was easing
that impatience, at least somewhat. He took deep breaths, over and over, and
slowly turned his gaze to his left hand. If he strained his eyes, he could see
the illusion-like, invisible chains wrapped around his entire body.
"Soul-Sealing
Chains... huh. It's like... they represent me."
His lifeline, his safety rope, and his shackles. For
some reason, the outline of those invisible chains seemed clearer to Nozomu
than before. As if they were gradually growing stronger. Clutching the Soul-Sealing Chains that bound his body,
Nozomu next turned his awareness to his surroundings. He felt countless gazes
from the darkness around the hut. From the moonlight, from the wind rustling
the leaves, from the jet-black darkness, the spirits were watching him.
"Shina mentioned it, didn't she? That I'm
special, so I attract the spirits' attention."
Spirits. Beings of the same nature as the one inside
his body, and fundamental existences that wield power humans could never hope
to control. Focusing on the spirits around him, he tried calling out. But the
spirits didn't answer. They kept a fixed distance, making no move to approach.
Even when he drew out the tiny wisp of ki he had left, even when he dispersed
his magic power—which was barely a drop in the ocean to begin with—the spirits
didn't answer. As he'd thought, Nozomu, in his human body, was unable to use
spirit magic.
"Then..."
Nozomu tore off the Soul-Sealing Chains he'd been clutching and released his power. A
torrent of elemental essence erupted. Along with that immense power, Tiamat's
consciousness was also unleashed.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"
"Guh! This... then..."
Forcing himself to ignore the roar of Tiamat's hatred
echoing in his ears, he called out to the spirits in the air. I want to suppress this dragon's power. Lend
me your strength. But the spirits, rather than responding, fled the scene
at top speed. At the manifestation of his Dragonslayer
power, the surrounding spirits still didn't answer his call; instead, they
fled all at once. It had been completely counter-productive.
"It's no good... huh..."
Fastening the Soul-Sealing
Chains once more, Nozomu let out a dejected sigh. He couldn't advance,
couldn't find a solution, couldn't see the future. He was struggling, unable to
breathe, in pitch-black water. His aimless emotions raged, rumbling. The
fatigue he'd worked so hard to ingrain in his body had vanished, leaving only a
helpless anger in his heart. He closed his eyes, trying to calm the impatience
welling up again. But his swirling heart would not settle. In the past, he'd
been afraid to even acknowledge he was at a standstill. He'd wanted to remain
unaware, to stay frozen in time. But now, being at a standstill was agonizing.
Trying to suppress the emotion swirling in his chest, he turned his head and
his eyes fell on the paper bag with the mithril bells he'd made at Wandor's shop.
He forced his exhausted body to sit up and opened the bag. A small, clumsy
bell, tinkling with a clear, chime-chime
sound, and colorful
fabrics peeked out. The bell he'd promised Irisdina. The one she'd told him she
no longer needed. Nozomu opened his pouch and took out the sewing needle and
thread he always carried. He lit a bonfire to secure a light source, cut the
cloth into a suitable shape, and began to form it. The image in his mind was
the small, purple flower he'd seen in Central Park today: Crowea. He passed a thread through the artificial flower he'd made
from the purple cloth, lightly tacking it so it wouldn't lose its shape. What
he'd decided to make was a hair ornament. He intended to combine the promised
bell, a white ribbon, and this artificial flower—which he thought would suit
both her original black hair and her current white hair—and give it to her. He
didn't have enough thread to finish it completely, but as long as he got the
shape down, he could complete it when he got back. He had no idea if she would
accept it. But he wanted to make it, so he'd be ready to fulfill his promise at
any time.
"Well, something like this? It's... a pretty
terrible job..."
He'd managed to make the basic shape, but the bell was
lopsided, and the artificial flower was warped. It was a poor item, completely
unbefitting a beautiful girl like Irisdina.
"Now, what to do..."
He undid the thread and started over. He remade the Crowea-shaped flower and fixed the shape
of the ribbon. The second attempt was just as clumsy. He undid the thread again
and remade it. If the second time failed, try a third. If the third failed, a
fourth. Huddled by the fire, Nozomu remade the hair ornament over, and over,
and over. His fingers, holding the needle, grew numb, and the cloth he'd bought
became more and more wrinkled, but he didn't care. He forgot to even feed the
fire, focusing his consciousness only on making the ornament. Before he knew
it, the fire had gone out, and he was continuing his work by moonlight alone.
"It's... done. Whoa, it's morning."
By the time he realized it, dawn had arrived. He let
out a long sigh and lay down on the spot. In his hand, he held the hair
ornament, still only tacked together, but bearing a vivid purple flower and a
silver mithril bell. The artificial flower was near-perfect, making the
slightly clumsy bell look comical, but that couldn't be helped.
"Now, I just have to re-sew it properly..."
Having overworked not only his body but his mind,
Nozomu was at his limit. He had classes, but his body didn't feel like it could
move. The fire, which he'd forgotten to feed, was long dead, and the winter
cold had chilled his body to the core. He rolled onto his side next to the dead
fire and looked at the sky. The dawn was gently illuminating the dark-gray
expanse. He slowly raised his hand, holding the ornament up to the sky. The
hair ornament, finally complete, sparkled in the morning light. Seeing that
sight, a warmth, in contrast to his freezing body, quietly welled up from his
chest. He placed a hand on his chest, reveling in the sense of accomplishment.
Just then, his hand touched something hard. Wondering what it was, he pulled it
from his breast pocket.
"This is..."
What he pulled out was a crystal, holding a golden
earring within. It was Mikael, who had turned to stone. Shina had given it to
him a while ago.
"Guh!"
The moment he took it out, a powerful impulse assaulted Nozomu. Crush that crystal! Destroy the traitor! Tiamat's
hateful roar echoed in his ears. Looking at the crystal, a thought suddenly
struck Nozomu. Mikael had turned himself into this crystal to seal Tiamat. He
couldn't speak or hear. He could communicate with elemental essence, that
fundamental power, but that was impossible for Nozomu, who couldn't converse
with spirits. But Mikael was one of the few beings who knew Tiamat. And he was
probably the dragon she had been closest to. He might be able to tell Nozomu
things about Tiamat that he didn't know. Nozomu slowly began to pour his own
magic power into Mikael's crystal. If he had no power, Nozomu just had to share
his and bring him to a state where he could speak. Forcing himself to ignore
the screams of hatred in his head, Nozomu continued to pour in his meager magic
power. But Nozomu had very little to begin with. It wasn't nearly enough to
awaken the powerless Mikael.
"It's no... use..."
Nozomu's shoulders slumped at Mikael, who remained
silent even after receiving all his magic power. But as he looked down, the
wrinkled silkbug cloth caught his
eye. He suddenly thought of Lisa. The trouble she'd caused, rampaging with her
adventurous spirit. What had she done when she'd been short on magic power?
"If you don't have enough, you supplement
it..."
Unfortunately, Nozomu had no magic stones. But that
didn't mean he had no options. He carefully placed the tacked-together ornament
back in the paper bag, making sure it wouldn't come apart, and hid it behind
the rubble of Shino's collapsed hut. Then, he slowly took a stance and thrust his
fist.
"Sei!"
He lunged forward with the momentum of the punch,
dropped his center of gravity, threw an elbow, and connected it to a kick. He
began to spin like a top, unleashing his forms. Wheel of Reincarnation. A ritual martial art that gathers ambient
magic power and layers enhancement magic on the user. As he danced, Nozomu
intentionally omitted the forms that cast enhancement magic, focusing only on
the gathering. The martial art, which had developed from a dance once dedicated
to the gods, returned to its former purpose, and particles of light from the
surroundings began to gather on his body. The unused magic power slowly
accumulated in his body, and soon, the power, with nowhere to go, began to
overflow.
(This... is rough.)
Compared to ki, Nozomu was not very adept at handling
magic power. He was better than before, but the excess power was steadily
beginning to wear his body down. But that power was exactly what he needed.
While dancing the Wheel of Reincarnation,
Nozomu slowly poured the gathered magic power into Mikael's crystal. He also
released his Soul-Sealing Chains. He
was trying to gather even the magic power he normally suppressed and send it
into the crystal.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"
"Guh!"
The unleashed Tiamat slammed him not only with screams
of resentment, but with a powerful, destructive impulse. Tiamat's hatred and
power scraped away at Nozomu's consciousness, which was already struggling to
control the gathered magic. But Nozomu grit his teeth and fought back,
suppressing Tiamat. The dance was already coming to an end. The enormous magic
power, converging with a swirling wind, was already more than his body could
hold. And, just before the dance ended, Nozomu stopped the Wheel of Reincarnation and poured all the gathered magic power into
Mikael at once.
"Please... answer me..."
If he let his consciousness be swallowed by Tiamat for
even a second, he would crush the crystal. And the moment he finished pouring
all of that immense magic power, Mikael's crystal began to pulse with a white
light.
"This is... Whoa!"
The next instant, Nozomu's vision was enveloped in
white. He instinctively re-fastened the Soul-Sealing
Chains, but his consciousness dissolved into the white light.
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