The Hatchling (2)
"Well, that's a lot."
Mini magic golems lay strewn across the ground before them like a minefield.
By the look of it, their numbers were well into the thousands.
These were the forces defending the perimeter of the Tiamut stronghold.
[Lv 28]
Ancient Mini Sentry Golem
The most numerous of them all were these sentry golems.
[Lv 29]
Ancient Mini Warden Golem
These were the guardian units mixed in at intervals among the rest.
[Lv 30]
Ancient Mini Gatekeeper Golem
Fewer than ten of these existed among all the golems, and they were by far the largest and most powerful-looking of the lot.
"James, what do you want to do?"
"Hmm."
At Ivan's words, James stroked his chin.
Sweeping them all away with their combined power would be no problem. The issue was that doing so would inevitably announce to Tiamut that they had invaded.
Besides, burning through their strength this recklessly would only hasten the arrival of the Tower's harsh restrictions.
"Honestly, those Tiamut bastards are in a league of their own when it comes to throwing money around. Look at how many golems they've scattered out here — how much did all this even cost?"
"The ideal solution would be to intercept that Arclyte Core."
Beyond the shield and protective barrier, a ruby gleamed brilliantly from the ceiling above the entrance leading into the main stronghold — the Arclyte Core. That was the very medium that gave these golems their animation.
"No way around it, then. We sweep them away as fast as we can—"
"Hold on a moment."
I cut them off and stepped forward. Curious gazes rained down on me.
"That core — let me try intercepting it."
"Oho?"
"You have a way to do it?"
At my words, Ivan let out a skeptical grunt, while Sophie's eyes sparkled as she asked.
"I can't guarantee it, but there's a method worth trying."
Their gazes turned to James. The final decision belonged to the leader of the party.
"Well now, this is intriguing. I do wonder what method you have in mind."
That was as good as permission. I grinned and raised my hand. The Dispel Ring on my finger glittered.
First, the shield.
The barrier covering the top of the protective wall.
Zeeeiiiiinnng!!
Purple light flared once — and vanished without a trace.
Next came the protective wall itself, jutting up like a fortress rampart. Only by piercing through it could the Arclyte Core be reached.
The others watched with expressions of eager anticipation, wondering what clever trick I would pull off after the Dispel Ring.
Astral Arrow.
Starlight gathered in my hand as I drew back in the gesture of pulling a bowstring. The distance was nearly five hundred meters — maximum range.
Zeeeiiiiinnng!
The condensed and re-condensed starlight mana churned as though it would explode at any moment.
Whew.
Now that I looked at it, condensing this thing all the way to maximum range was no feat for just anyone. Unless one possessed a degree of mana control that had even drawn admiration from Ellaon, it would hardly be easy to handle.
Thwip.
FWAAAAAARM!
The arrow of starlight left my hand, scattering a trail of beautiful radiance through the air as it closed the distance to the protective wall in an instant.
"That wall can't simply be breached with magic alone—"
Sophie had just begun to speak, her voice tinged with regret.
Slither.
The arrow of starlight passed straight through the protective wall like a phantom.
"What the—!"
"...!"
"Oh!"
The three of the Seven Ascenders burst into gasps of awe at the sight all at once.
BOOOOOM!!
A moment later, the Arclyte Core evaporated without a trace.
Ziiiing!
At the same instant, the mini golems everywhere ground to a halt.
"Kahaha! The more I see of you, the more I'm convinced you're the real thing."
"...I'm almost embarrassed by my own words."
"As expected."
Each of the three looked at me with eyes brimming with very different emotions.
Receiving this kind of gaze from the so-called strongest, the Seven Ascenders themselves — I hardly knew where to put myself.
As expected of a Mythic-grade skill, I suppose. Though it was only 3-Star, it had displayed power enough to leave even the Seven Ascenders in admiration.
Granted, my own skill in wielding it so flawlessly deserved some credit as well.
In any case, we were able to march straight into the stronghold without a hint of interference.
Pangaea.
The homeland of Aleon — a dimensional continent now hurtling toward its own destruction.
Many races had gone extinct, yet some still clung to life.
"Lumina has hatched in the hands of humans."
Among them was the dragon race — the strongest and most fearsome species that Pangaea had to offer.
"How can this be..."
Seven dragons were gathered in one place. Red, black, blue, green, silver, gold, and white — representatives of each draconic lineage.
Every one of them was a super-ancient dragon whose very existence ranked as a final weapon, far beyond the tier of mere ancients.
And before the name Lumina, these beings could not suppress their grief.
"Can we bring her back to us?"
Calandra, matriarch of the red dragons, was the first to speak. No dragon answered her.
It was a refusal as good as any words.
"To bring one who has entered the Sky Tower to Pangaea is impossible without invoking the authority of the Dragon God, Alkarsha."
The being who wielded the greatest power in this assembly — Auremir, head of the gold dragons and the Dragon Lord himself — drove the point home.
"Mmm."
No one could hide their displeasure. Even beings capable of exercising power bordering on the divine were left feeling helpless.
"Do not despair. We cannot bring her to Pangaea — but returning her to the embrace of one of our kin bound to the Sky Tower should be within our reach."
It was Auremir who broke the heavy silence once more. He proposed a compromise that would secure the safety of their hatchling, Lumina.
"...Is that not overexerting yourself, my lord?"
A dragon of pure white scales, silent until now, spoke up. Carrying out what Auremir had just described would require pledging a portion of his own life force as collateral.
"I have lived a long and exalted life. What use of my remaining life force could possibly be more worthwhile than spending it for my kin?"
A faint wave of awe passed among the dragons. They were moved by the nobility of Auremir's spirit.
"Then let us make our preparations for Lumina."
And so the great design to reach across dimensions — to reach into the authority of the Sky Tower itself from the world of Pangaea — began to stir.
BOOOOOM!
Crreeeak.
THUD.
Four colossal golems toppled sideways in unison. They were the watchmen that had appeared the moment we set foot inside the stronghold — boss-tier entities reaching Lv 30.
And yet, before the power of the Seven Ascenders, they were nothing more than oversized toys.
They really are impressive, I'll admit.
This time, the admiration came from my side. I had subdued one of them myself, to be sure, using Sage's Aura and Freezing Orb.
But the Ascenders, with skills and power beyond anything I could measure, crushed their opponents with almost casual ease.
"Heh heh. Truly, what is that power of yours? I find myself thinking it would be great fun if you climbed up to the 9th floor."
Of course, the Ascenders were every bit as astonished by my unfathomable strength as I was by theirs. We traded quiet wonder as we pressed ever deeper.
Soon we reached the entrance leading down to the first underground level.
"The real thing starts now. From here on, no amount of finesse will keep our invasion hidden."
Tiamut's stronghold extended seven levels below the surface. Having lightly cleared the ground floor, we began descending straight into the depths.
WEEEEEEEEEIN!!
Alarms wailed the instant we entered the underground levels.
"We have intruders!"
"Ja—James?!"
"Are they insane! Ivan and Sophie are with him!"
"Th-the Masked One is here too!"
To Tiamut, our arrival was nothing short of a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Too flustered to mount any proper defense, they could do nothing but scramble to stay out of our way as we cut them down.
"KWAHAHAHA! Would you look at that — nothing but straws and empty husks in here!"
The wildest of us all, a colt off its reins, was Ivan.
BANG, KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!!
"Ggh—gahk!"
"Mercy—aaagk!"
"A m-monster."
Tiamut's forces could not hold back a single Ivan. They fell like autumn leaves in the wind.
We were able to descend comfortably in Ivan's wake, carving through Tiamut's defenses at our leisure.
But that didn't last long.
Ziiiing!
"Mm. Looks like I'm done for now."
Ivan clicked his tongue and backed away. Across his skin, purple runes had risen in countless numbers.
This was the second of the Tower's Restrictions. Beyond the primary limit that capped one's power to suit each floor's level, a mana restriction would fall upon anyone who expended too much strength — one so severe that even one's remaining power could no longer be used properly.
This was one of the reasons high-floor Ascenders could not exert their full strength on lower floors. Because the mana restriction persisted for at least half a day once triggered, letting it happen down here could genuinely mean losing one's life even to mere 3rd-floor Ascenders.
The ones who could romp around the 3rd floor without restriction were, naturally, Ascenders within the 3rd floor's own level range.
So that's why they recruited me.
I was the insurance policy for when they hit their limits. That was my role here.
"It's my turn now."
Sophie stepped forward.
FWOORRRUM!
SHAAAAH.
The highest-grade spirits of fire and wind were summoned — Seleana and Celestin.
But even they had lost the majesty of their true rank to the Tower's Restrictions.
They look like Dryas.
Like Dryas, the spirits had shrunk down to miniature size. I found myself wondering whether they could actually fight like this.
But then—
FWOORRRRRUM!
BOOOOOM!
"Gg—AAAAK!"
"It's—Sophie!"
"The Witch of the Battlefield...!"
Far from being hampered by their appearance, the spirits' power bordered on divine punishment. Tiamut's Ascenders trembled in a fear altogether different from what Ivan had inspired.
"Ahem. Seeing it up close like this, being a Spirit Summoner really is a cheat-tier trait."
Ivan muttered from behind, arms crossed. And to be fair, from his perspective the thought was understandable.
Unlike Ivan, who threw his whole body into the fight, Sophie was sweeping away enemies without so much as lifting a finger.
Could I ever fight like that someday?
Dryas and Snikle. Send those two in first, stroll along behind them with my hands clasped behind my back and watch — that sounded like absolute heaven. And whenever the two of them started to struggle, I could toss out a spell now and then. Wouldn't that let me coast all the way up the Sky Tower on easy mode?
The next time a chance to gain familiars comes along, I'm not letting a single one slip by.
Sophie's style of combat opened up an entirely new horizon for me.
With Sophie leading the charge, we advanced like a blade cleaving through bamboo — and in the blink of an eye, we had broken through to the fifth underground level.
Just two more floors, and we would reach the deepest heart of this stronghold, the seventh underground level.
We were on the very cusp of entering the passage down to the sixth underground level when a faint thread of will reached my ears.
[Hel...p... me...]
"...!"
A voice utterly without strength. And yet it was steeped in pain and desperation.
The moment that fringe of emotion reached me, a wave of aching sympathy and sorrow welled up from somewhere deep in my chest.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Is something the matter?"
The party looked at me, frozen mid-step, with bewildered expressions.
"Ah. You didn't happen to hear that voice just now, did you? The one asking for help?"
"...?"
The three exchanged glances at my words, then soon let out awkward laughs.
"Well... none of us heard any such thing."
"You must be worn out, that's all."
"Hmm."
Sophie and Ivan shook their heads. Only James tilted his head, wearing the thoughtful expression of a man turning something over in his mind.
Their reactions left me certain that I alone had heard that voice.
It wasn't a hallucination.
The vivid emotion I had felt mere moments ago. A voice pleading so earnestly for help could not possibly have been imaginary.
"My mistake. I must have misheard. Sorry."
Yet my mouth said the exact opposite of what I thought. There was no need to argue the point of whether I'd been right or wrong — because I had a rough idea where that voice had come from.
- The hatchling. It seems that being sent you its will.
Yes — just as Aleon said, I suspected the will I had heard belonged to the hatchling.
Why had it reached me, and me alone? I had no idea.
But the instant I heard that voice, a fire had roared up inside me — a burning urge to help the poor creature.
"Let's go down."
James, who had been tilting his head as if something still troubled him, said nothing more. We descended together into the sixth underground level.
And there we saw them.
The ones who had been waiting for us.
And the situation that would leave James and his companions with no choice but to plead desperately for my help.