Chapter 20
Chapter 20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Chapter 4 The Dragon Slaying Ritual (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the meantime, Zikel raced through the trees like a gale and lunged at Azel.
Kaang!
Azel, who had set Rick down, parried his sword.
It was a strike with no room to deflect. Zikel's sword strike was so ferocious that Azel's body slid back.
Zikel growled menacingly.
"I'll kill you."
"Not words I feel like returning."
Azel replied indifferently. Even though his stance had crumbled from the ambush, he showed no sign of panic.
Zikel sensed a threat in that expression.
Spot!
In the next instant, something sliced through his hood. The veil of darkness rippled, and the top of the hood was shallowly cut away.
"What did you...!"
Zikel hastily retreated, a chill running down his spine. Azel had clearly been pushed back while clashing swords with him. Yet a sword strike had flown in from his blind spot.
Azel grinned.
"Guess what I did?"
"Arrogant bastard! A mere human!"
"How many times do you think that line's been repeated in human history? Can't you show some creativity? Or is your brain too stiff from that dull dragon blood?"
"You little...!"
Zikel's rage boiled over at Azel's taunt, but he couldn't charge in recklessly. He couldn't grasp what trick Azel had used.
Azel, staring at him impassively, clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Not good.'
He regretted not landing a fatal blow with that last move. Zikel's wariness had spiked, making him reluctant to rush in.
The method Azel had used was simple. He had hidden another sword with concealment magic and struck from the blind spot at the crucial moment. His one-handed swordsmanship was so natural that Zikel hadn't even imagined he was dual-wielding.
Kugugugugu...!
It was then. The ground trembled, then rippled like the surface of water.
Azel looked urgently at the Earth Dragon. Soon, the Earth Dragon raised its head.
'Dragon's Roar!'
It was a catastrophic attack that unleashed a dragon's power all at once.
The moment Azel realized what the Earth Dragon was about to do, a thunderous roar erupted from its gaping maw toward the sky.
Kuguaaaaa!
The explosive sound reverberated as the earth flipped over.
Centered on the roaring dragon, a shockwave raced across the ground, annihilating everything in its path. The surface was shaved away entirely, the grass and trees on it were all blown away, and a massive wave of earth and debris exploded, burying everything.
Kugugugu...
The dust cloud that had raged across hundreds of meters gradually settled.
7
Dragons were akin to walking calamities.
Just the rampage of such enormous beings caused immense destruction, and they even wielded the power to freely manipulate the natural phenomena of their dominant element.
Fortunately, dragons rarely clashed with humans.
Their habits resembled those of beasts that claimed territories and ruled them as tyrants. Yet they strangely avoided encroaching on human domains.
Even so, humans had amassed much knowledge about dragons. When dragons and humanity collided, the devastation from even a single individual was beyond belief.
But despite learning and knowing that knowledge... Arieta realized she actually knew nothing about dragons.
'Impossible to oppose.'
Over the past two years, she had faced evil black mages and deranged Dragon Demon Hybrids. Her composure against the Dragon Shadow members here stemmed from such experiences.
However, the Earth Dragon before her was on another level. Dodging its massive body charging at her was overwhelming enough.
'And Enora...'
On top of that, Arieta had someone to protect. Enora, clutched in her arms, had fainted with a pale face.
No ordinary girl could endure this mentally. And with the physical strain added...
'Can't use Flash Step anymore.'
Flash Step, which covered dozens of meters in an instant, placed enormous strain on the body.
As a Dragon Demon Hybrid, Arieta's innate physique was incomparably robust, protected by her Dragon Demon mana. But Enora had fainted from just one use.
Thud! Thud...
Before her, the sound of the Earth Dragon approaching through the dust echoed.
Could she evade without Flash Step in this situation? The Earth Dragon devastated wide areas with every move, and the Dragon Shadow members kept grabbing at her ankles?
'No...'
Arieta felt bleak despair. Had she ever been in a situation this hopeless?
It was then.
"No helping it."
Azel's voice rang out.
Arieta looked in surprise toward the source. There, Azel walked over, Rick slumped over his shoulder, shaking blood off his sword.
Arieta murmured dazedly.
"Azel Zestringer..."
"Not my style to flip cards without seeing them... but that bastard Kallos is spiteful even in death."
Azel chuckled wryly as he set Rick down beside Arieta. Then a voice filled with hatred came from behind.
"You bastard...!"
"You survived that? Tough one."
Azel spoke shamelessly, as if he knew all along. Zikel staggered out from the dust, chest gashed open, blood pouring profusely.
Just before the Earth Dragon's Dragon's Roar, Zikel had been caught completely off-guard in panic. Azel had prioritized attacking him over dodging the impending disaster.
As a result, Zikel was critically wounded. Even for a Dragon Demon Hybrid with a sturdy body, it was dangerous without immediate treatment.
Azel scoffed.
"Hmph. I'd love to finish you off... but no time to deal with you now."
"What? You son of a...!"
"Zikel! Stop!"
Regina shouted urgently upon grasping the situation late. But Zikel had already exploded. His Dragon Demon mana surged in rage like a storm, and wreathed in blue flames, he lunged at Azel.
Puk!
A gruesome sound of flesh tearing echoed.
"Uh...?"
Zikel, about to strike Azel with Flash Step, froze and let out a dumb groan.
Two swords had pierced through his body like a skewer.
"What in the world is this..."
"Told you. No time to deal with you."
Azel smiled coldly. He looked at Zikel with eyes tinged with contempt.
"You can't even handle gazes, read intent flows, or observe your opponent properly, yet you dare challenge me? Atone for the immense power you possess. Are all Dragon Demon Hybrids this pathetic nowadays?"
Azel hadn't lost sight of Zikel for even an instant. Predicting his approach after the mortal wound, he had set a trap with two hidden swords. Imbuing them with mana beforehand to fly remotely was child's play for him.
"Such a... fool I am..."
With lungs and heart pierced, Zikel breathed his last.
Regina and her comrades shuddered. The anger of watching a comrade die paled before the fear of Azel staring at them coldly.
'What the hell is this guy?'
His detectable mana was scant. Among the humans she'd killed, countless had stronger mana.
Yet... he had no bottom.
Despite the absolute power gap, he toppled foes with absurd methods. What sorcery was this?
Thud... thud... thud...
Even as they stood off, the Earth Dragon drew closer. Azel said.
"Princess. Take Rick and Miss Enora and run."
"...What?"
"I'll handle that dragon."
"What are you saying?"
Arieta was dumbfounded.
She knew Azel was strong. His true power couldn't be gauged from appearances. In combat techniques, at least, she didn't reach his toes.
However... facing a dragon was entirely different. No matter how skilled, without overwhelming power, how could one fight a dragon?
Azel gave a wry smile.
"Truth is... I have a really spiteful friend."
"......?"
"He loves seeing the bottom of people. Even when he could help immediately, he watches them cornered to judge their worth. Though sometimes he just waits for the perfect moment to show off."
"...Not someone I'd want to associate with."
"Right. But once he acknowledges your worth, he'd give you his liver. Even stake his life."
The Kallos in Azel's memory was such a man. The eccentric mage everyone avoided, yet too competent to do without.
"So I trust that guy."
"What does that have to do with now?"
"Everything."
Azel stepped forward before the Earth Dragon as he spoke. It halted, reacting to his gaze, and tilted its head.
"Dragon."
Azel said.
"My name is Azel Zestringer."
And the name of the absolute trial long buried in memory flowed from Azel's lips.
"I challenge the Dragon Slaying Ritual."
8
Kirion, a member of the Dragon Shadow, was inside an underground structure presumed to be Kallos's ruins.
The day before, injured by Azel, he had been ordered to inspect the ruins with arriving reinforcements. Dissatisfied, but unable to defy Regina's superior command, he complied.
"Anything that approaches disintegrates."
As anger seeped into Kirion's voice, the support from the organization grumbled.
"No choice. It was designed from the start not to let outsiders take what's inside."
The manpower dispatchable here in a day was predictable. Like Kirion, a Dragon Demon Hybrid mage had come.
A black mage exuding a sinister aura. Kirion valued lives like flies too, but the deathly vibe from a black mage using death as a tool was chilling.
Still, his skill was undeniable. The ruin's defenses, which Kirion couldn't breach despite trying, opened after twelve hours of his effort.
The problem came next.
