7. Battle>Aksarai told Sian various things once he woke.
Aksarai’s voice answered.
What Sian had feared was the possibility that years had flown by while he digested the enormous power that had surged into him like a tide. If that had happened, the situation would already have been over, and no matter how much he struggled, he would not have been able to deal with the Lukra and Harijans pouring in from every direction.
But if it was only two weeks, the barrier should not have been undone yet. He had not become as strong as he would have liked, but it was fortunate that there was still time.
Seeing Sian like that, Aksarai asked in a stern voice.
Hm?”
When Sian asked with a puzzled expression, Aksarai posed another question.Sian thought seriously for a moment before answering.
“I think I can handle one Dragona.”
Anyone who heard that would have been astonished. He had become strong enough to beat down a Dragona that had trained for thousands of years and broken through wall after wall, even though it had not been long since he became an Alpha.
That was how powerful the authority Aksarai had left behind was. In the past, those were beings he could hardly even look at, but now, somehow or other, he could handle at least one of them.
Aksarai looked pleased upon hearing that. Even if food was given to someone, digesting it depended entirely on the individual’s talent. But in that regard, this fellow Sian was more outstanding than anyone. To devour another’s power to that degree… Aksarai had secretly been on edge, but this was an extremely satisfying result.
“People live according to how they were born. More importantly, what is the plan?”
When Sian spoke sullenly, Aksarai began.
“You mean Geurang-Ra’s sword.”
However, two weeks ago, when he drew and used Broxian’s silver spear while fighting the crayfish bastard, its power had truly been enough to shake heaven and earth. Geurang-Ra’s sword was a weapon by no means inferior to it. If even that weapon had been stolen, the current situation would have been even more desperate.
“That is a relief, at least.”
Aksarai’s smug voice sounded in response.
When Sian asked with a puzzled expression, Aksarai kindly explained.
Sian nodded at those words. It certainly made sense that the beasts might attack the beings trying to control them. Until now, they too had not attacked because they feared mutual destruction, but if that barrier were completely lifted and they were fully controlled, the story would change. Out of fear of that situation, they might instead attack the Lukra.
And from the Lukra’s standpoint, that would truly be the worst possible move. If their own weapons began attacking them, there was no way the Drakun would let that opening pass. They would be attacked from both sides.
Watching Sian nod, Aksarai continued.
To win that war, Sian would have to display enough strength to face the Dragona, Raiona, and Crona all at once. At the very least. That was still impossible for Sian.Sian nodded at those words as well. No matter how he looked at it, taking down all three was impossible.
“Hoo… Then which one should we attack first?”
Aksarai answered immediately.
Aksarai nodded and said.“More importantly, how do we find it?”
Aksarai grinned inside his head and said.
What do you mean?”
When Sian asked back with an uneasy expression, Aksarai delivered the final blow.
Sian sighed and rose to his feet. If Aksarai was right, there was no time. He had to move as quickly as possible.
At Sian’s words, Aksarai smiled and said.
A vast sea located to the south of the Don-Nasian Continent and to the east of the Ra-Sian Continent.
It went without saying, but no one had ever crossed this sea. It was a sea of beasts teeming with countless Harijans.
A man was running across the surface of that sea. And he was scattering an enormous aura in every direction as he did so.
Thanks to that, the ferocious Harijans and merfolk that inhabited the sea were fleeing in all directions. After all, those creatures were ferocious only toward opponents they thought they could tangle with. The being currently scattering that aura was not at such a level.
However, the Harijans did not know that this aura was not the man’s full power. Even if they had known, not much would have changed.
The man, Sian, was bounding across the sea while working hard to regulate his power.
Aksarai’s voice rang in his head.
Aksarai grinned.
Sian nodded.
Even Sian himself had not expected to become this strong in such a short period. If he had not, then Raiona would never know even in its dreams.
Once Aksarai saw that Sian seemed to understand, he spoke as if concluding the matter.
Sian regulated his power and began bounding around over the sea.☆ ☆ ☆Raiona muttered as it recovered its body. The fight over prey had turned into a fight of pride, and though they had battled fiercely, in the end, the prey that had been their objective had slipped away entirely. Having lost their goal, the three lost steam and stopped fighting. Thanks to that, Raiona had not been seriously injured and had managed to fully recover its body before long.
However, the rift between them had deepened even further.
While Raiona was recovering deep beneath the sea, it suddenly sensed a familiar aura passing along the outermost edge of its territory.<…
Huh?>Sensing the fellow now caught within its perception, Raiona seriously wondered whether this was reality. A fellow that absolutely should not be here was brazenly passing through its territory.
Moreover, as if something were terribly urgent, that fellow was hurriedly and rapidly passing through its domain.
Doubt flickered through her for a moment, but she did not hesitate long. Above all, the end of the route he was taking straight across her territory was Crona’s domain. If she left him be, he would go right into Crona’s mouth.
Liona violently hauled her body upward from the depths of the sea where she had been staying.☆ ☆ ☆
If Liona was staying in the Great Eastern Sea, there was no way she would just watch that happen, so she would come running, and they would settle it on the surface of the sea.
“Still… I wonder just how big she is.”
From what he had seen and felt, even among Harijans of the same strength, the oceanic Harijans were often far larger than those that lived on land. He had never seen Liona’s appearance for himself, but if she was larger than the enormous Dragona and Crona, it would truly feel as though a mountain were moving and an island were walking.
At Aksarai’s strangely phrased words, Sian voiced his疑疑 doubt.
“Keugh!”
Kugugugugung!
In the brief time they clashed, the seawater had already been pushed away and evaporated, and the Harijans within that range were all swept up and pulverized.
It was an extremely perilous, violent battle, but Aksarai, who shared Sian’s senses, watched the scene at ease as though watching a fire across a river and muttered. In any case, it was not he who was showing the path, but Sian’s body, which had changed because of his soul, so there was nothing in particular for him to help with.
An incomparably beautiful face and a well-proportioned figure. If he had met her on the road, she was certainly the sort of woman he would have glanced back at least once.
But now, that well-proportioned figure was far too threatening. If she had at least been large, there would have been plenty of space to strike with his spear, but she was small, and her movements were so fast that Broxian’s Spear kept cutting through empty air.
Moreover, though her outward appearance vaguely resembled a human’s, the tremendous number of tentacles extending from her entire body and her fluid, boneless evasive movements made Sian constantly aware that his opponent was clearly something else.‘Does this even make sense, damn it!’Sian gritted his teeth as he evaded the tentacles flying in from every direction, sealing off his paths. He had clearly perceived the image of Liona that Aksarai remembered, the one Aksarai had sent into his memories. In that memory, there had definitely been a frog even larger than Dragona. Not this tiny tentacled monster!
So he had assumed that, however much she had changed, she would be a giant monster toad, and had spread his senses in all directions looking for a massive beast. In doing so, he had failed to notice the small creature approaching at ferocious speed and allowed an unexpected blow.
Liona endlessly extended her tentacles, aiming for Sian’s entire body. Her responses were exceedingly skillful as well. Since the difference in their abilities was not great, from Liona’s side, she could not avoid all of his attacks either.
Each time Broxian’s Spear grazed Liona, the silver substance that clung to her let out a shriek and tried to devour her.
However, perhaps because her energy was tremendously condensed now that her body was small, Broxian’s Spear could not easily eat her away. On top of that, by some means, Liona was causing the parts touched by the silver substance to necrotize on their own and separating them from her body.
Thanks to that, Broxian’s Spear was unable to properly devour Liona. Whenever it tried, she precisely necrotized the area stained by the silver substance and cast it off. The parts that fell away regenerated and filled back in instantly, and Liona poured attacks toward Sian without any issue.
Feeling that Broxian’s Spear was not working, Sian gritted his teeth. He was not yet at the level where he could freely handle two weapons. Moreover, unlike himself, who had only recently obtained his power, Liona was someone who had trained for thousands of years, and as expected, she was remarkably skilled at utilizing her entire body. Paths continued to appear endlessly before his eyes, but even following each and every movement was overwhelming.
Watching Sian, Aksarai muttered.
“I’m still… not at a level where I can handle two. It’ll only scatter my focus.”
Aksarai added one more thing as he watched Sian.
Hm?”
In the midst of fighting frantically, Sian heard Aksarai’s words, thrust Broxian’s Spear out powerfully, and in the gap when Liona drew back for a moment, pulled Broxian’s Spear into his body.
He had never properly used Grang-La’s blade himself, so he did not know its effects. But if Aksarai, who had fought its owner directly, was saying this, it would not be nonsense.
Sian focused his mind on the golden energy swirling inside his body. Soon, a brilliantly shining golden blade formed before his eyes, and Sian grabbed its hilt and swung it savagely.
Liona failed to dodge the suddenly changed weapon and was grazed. At that instant, something astonishing happened.
But it did not regenerate. Up until now, Liona had been fighting while endlessly regenerating the areas that were grazed. That was why she had boldly cast off even the parts grazed by Broxian’s Spear. She only had to regenerate them.
But the area grazed by Grang-La was different. Liona endlessly attempted to regenerate that part, but each time she regenerated it, the grazed area continued to burn. She tried to cast it off entirely, as she had when grazed by Broxian’s Spear, and regenerate it anew, but like a curse, the part touched by Grang-La’s blade continued to burn.
Because of that, Liona groaned under the pain of the area she was trying to regenerate constantly burning and let out a shriek.
“What kind of vicious…….”
Broxian’s weapon and Grang-La’s weapon alike were both unbelievably sinister in and of themselves.
Sian, who had been marveling at the weapon’s power, groaned as he saw tentacles flying toward him, stretched out in a rage. Having given up on regeneration, Liona abandoned regenerating the areas where she was constantly feeling pain altogether and turned all that remaining strength into offense. For Sian as well, it was not a situation where he could afford the slightest leisure.
Sian once again swung Grang-La’s blade without hesitation, storming across his opponent’s entire body. The situation had become somewhat more favorable, but there was no room for carelessness. Sian gritted his teeth and, manipulating his internal coefficient in order to cut Liona to pieces, fought back with all his might.☆ ☆ ☆Crona raised his head at the enormous waves of energy surging from far away.
But he could not guess the other. It seemed to contain some familiar energy mixed within it, but Crona shook his head. That fellow had only recently been chased by their hands and had his life threatened. He was absolutely not at a level where he could fight Liona.
Crona wondered whether there was any being on the continent capable of threatening them one-on-one, but no one in particular came to mind. However, the waves of collision spreading from far away were clearly telling him that there was a being fighting Liona on equal footing.
That was why Crona’s eyes flashed. Now was the opportunity. It did not matter who the opponent was. What mattered was that the opponent’s presence was very similar to Dragona’s. In that case, whoever won would be left in tatters. Crona had no intention whatsoever of missing such a chance.
Dragona had probably sensed this presence by now as well.Back then, there had been three of them and the balance had held, so they had not fought greatly. But this time, he absolutely could not yield. Moreover, last time there had been only one delicious prey, but this time there would be two.
Crona roughly raised his body and began running as if flying toward the eastern sea where the battle was taking place.☆ ☆ ☆Sian panted as he stared at his opponent.
At a glance, Sian seemed to be in far worse condition. Liona’s attacks had left his entire body bleeding and battered. Even the large, deep wounds were far more serious than Liona’s.
Compared to him, Liona still looked fine on the surface. Wounds from Grang-La’s blade were burning all over her body, but many of them were merely scratches. Such wounds covered her evenly from head to toe. Moreover, perhaps there was some limit to her regeneration after all, because the parts Broxian had eaten away could no longer continue regenerating.
But the flow of the battle was moving in the exact opposite direction. Liona was desperately trying to flee, and Sian was fiercely chasing her.
Liona tried to turn and run from Sian, who was trying to tear into her like a mad dog, but Sian did not leave her alone. When Liona turned her body and tried to slip away, Sian fiercely swung Grang-La’s blade and tried to burn her entire body.
It was not a situation where he was winning. He looked as though he was charging in ferociously, but the situation was clearly unfavorable for Sian. If they kept fighting, Sian would lose.
Even so, Sian clung to Liona desperately, biting down and refusing to let go. He did not need to hold out for long. He could feel what was about to come flying in.
Liona also clearly felt that energy. That was why she grew even more urgent. Looking at Sian clinging to her like a leech, Liona shouted in a panicked voice.
Panicked, Liona had stopped attacking actively for a while now and had been focusing only on shaking Sian off, but as if he had absolutely no intention of letting her go, Sian ignored his own wounds and clung to her until the end.
Because his injuries were severe, he would not be able to hold on for much longer, but Sian was certain that time was on his side. The two beings flying in from far away at ferocious speed must have sensed the tattered states of both of them, because they were rushing in even faster, as if competing with each other.
Aksarai let out a regretful voice at the sight.
By rights, he should have killed Liona. But Liona was far stronger than expected. Even if Sian had fought properly, he likely would not have been able to avoid mutual destruction. His skills had continued to improve throughout the fight, but that did not mean his wounds healed or the energy he had spent returned.
‘…
It’s here!’
Seeing the violet flash erupting from far in the distance, Sian roughly swung his golden blade. The instant Liona, wary of the golden blade, fell back, Sian began pouring an enormous amount of energy into the ring he had received from Kon-rad before setting out for this place.
Only then, sensing space distort, did Liona realize what Sian was plotting. With a savage roar, he launched a fierce assault at Sian.
Liona tried to tear space apart and interfere with Sian’s spatial transfer, but Sian had no intention of simply watching him do it. He knocked away every one of Liona’s attacks while endlessly pouring energy into the ring to complete the spatial transfer.
As Liona saw the spatial transfer nearing completion, impatience gripped him. Of course, beings on the level of Dragona and Crona could tear open the gate and pursue them before the traces of spatial movement vanished.
But if he remained here and only that bastard escaped, the story would be different. In that case, those two would be busy tearing his battered body apart, and the bastard would survive and return while the traces of space were swept away and erased.
Grit!
Liona ground his teeth. He could not let things go that bastard’s way.
Liona wrapped himself around Sian’s body and clung to him fiercely. If they crossed over together through the spatial transfer first, those bastards would feel the loss of their prey and tear through space to chase after them. If that happened, at the very least, he could die together with this bastard.
“Damn!”
Sian’s face filled with panic as he swung his blade violently and began attacking Liona with ferocity. Because of that, Liona began suffering tremendous wounds all over his body, but in the end Sian failed to shake him off, and they began to be transferred through space together.
In the end, Sian tore through space and moved together with Liona.
With a triumphant expression, Liona looked at Sian’s face, wanting to see the expression of a bastard trembling in fear of death.
But Sian’s expression was not like that. Though he looked exhausted, relief at having accomplished something had risen on his face.
“Whew… Catching even one bastard is really damn hard…….”
Before Liona’s confused cry could even finish, the spatial transfer was completed, and Crona and Dragona flew frantically to the spot.
Crona ground his teeth and stirred the remaining spatial ripples this way and that, searching for where the two had fled. In any case, both of them were battered to pieces. If he could only cross over, he would be able to devour them without fail, and Crona had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by. Even in the worst case, he could split them with Dragona beside him.
After stirring a few times, Crona realized where those bastards had gone and turned away, grinding his teeth. The situation was worse than he had expected. With no prey to be had, there was no need to bother grappling with Dragona.
Seeing that, Dragona grew curious and stirred space after Crona, immediately realizing why Crona had given up. But unlike Crona, he could not give up so easily; he stared regretfully beyond space for a while before finally realizing it was impossible and spat out a curse.
The spatial coordinates to which Liona and that hostile species had crossed over pointed precisely to the very center of the Drakuns. If they pursued, the losses would be far too great.
Grinding their teeth, Dragona and Crona began returning to their own territories.
☆ ☆ ☆
Kiiuuung!
The preparations for the spatial transfer had taken a long time, but the movement itself was instantaneous. Sian hurriedly flung away Liona, who had ridden along with him, and took his stance. Liona was far too dangerous to stay close to.
And the moment distance opened between them, mighty beams of light covered the battered Liona from every direction.
Already strained from ruining Sian’s spatial transfer, Liona could not block the sudden deluge of attacks and died on the spot. If they had been ordinary attacks, even a battered Liona would not have fallen to them.
But those who had launched the attacks were a mighty race that had split the continent in two, battling one another to destroy the other side and seize hegemony. And among that race, they were those who had risen to the position of alpha. Liona, too, was powerful, but in his battered state—and ambushed on top of that—he could not endure for long.
In the end, Liona died with his entire body aflame, and after leaving behind only one enormous gem beyond measure, his existence vanished from the world.
For one of the three beast leaders who had divided and ruled the Ra-Sian Continent, it was an exceedingly hollow death.
“Whew… I was lucky.”
With the battle over, Sian focused on recovering his battered body. The place Sian was currently in was the Drakuns’ base in the sky. The Drakuns had used their supernatural abilities to gather and condense the remaining smoke into the shape of an island, and upon it, they were preparing for war.
Sian had spatially transferred into that Drakun base.
From the start, Aksarai had never thought that even if Sian had grown stronger, he would be able to finish off Liona without being discovered by Dragona and Crona. If he were that strong, there would have been no need to attempt defeating them individually in the first place.
That was why he had made a plan. First, he had Kon-rad create another spatial transfer ring and contact the Drakuns in advance. If he were human, there would have been no way for him to know how to contact them, but Aksarai knew the communication channel network used separately by the Drakuns. After teaching that channel network to Kon-rad, he told him about his plan. Even if they were Drakuns, they would not be able to refuse his words.
Moreover, from the Drakuns’ perspective, they were in a situation where they would even borrow a cat’s paw if they could. In a state of absolute inferiority, there was no way they could refuse a proposal to eliminate one of the enemy’s main forces.
At first, Sian had felt burdened by the idea of entering the very middle of the Drakuns, but after considering the balance of power, he agreed to the proposal. If they killed Liona and then killed him as well, they would have no way to deal with the surviving Dragona and Crona.
Feeling that the plan had more or less succeeded, Sian let out a sigh of relief at the thought that they had taken the first step. And as he did, a Drakun boasting a massive body appeared before him.
Drakuns were generally over ten meters in size, but the Drakun that appeared before him was even larger. It looked to be almost twenty meters tall.
Sian was seeing this being for the first time, but the newly appeared first-rank Kun, Katura, had already heard about this being through the earth ant called Kon-rad. And about the great god within him as well.
“…
Uh. What am I supposed to say here? Can’t you talk to him directly?”
When Sian asked with a flustered expression, caught in the middle, Aksarai spoke as if there was no reason he could not.
“Um… Like this?”
Though still battered, Sian reached out his hand and made as if to place it on Katura’s head. Katura seemed to understand what it meant, lowering his high-positioned head so that Sian could lay his hand upon it.
Soon, Aksarai began conveying his will through spirit waves.
At that, Katura’s face filled with rapture. Leaving aside the fact that he knew that expression and his name, an exceedingly familiar presence was carried within the spirit waves. One he could never forget—their king.
At that, Aksarai shook his head and said,
Soon, Aksarai began giving Katura various orders, and Sian listened to their conversation with interest.