Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Dragon's Lair (3)
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Dragon Words were not merely a simple voice.
It was a vibration that seemed to resonate throughout the entire space! The words weren't heard through the ears. They were more like a message that stabbed directly into the mind.
For an ordinary human, merely listening to them could drive one insane—they were that dangerous and powerful. That was 'Dragon Words.'
Normally, a dragon seeking to converse with humans would adjust the intensity of Dragon Words on its own. However, Tondra had just awakened from slumber right now. On top of that, it wasn't by her own will—she had been disturbed from her sleep.
If comparing to a human, it was like pulling all-nighters for a full week, finally dozing off on the weekend, only to be jolted awake by construction noise starting at seven in the morning.
There was no way Tondra, in such a state, possessed the patience to temper the power of her Dragon Words for the human who had roused her.
“Keuk……!”
My insides churned violently, and I vomited up another gush of blood. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have suffered this much damage. But since I had already pushed myself too far, the ordeal was unbearable.
“Master!”
Seeing me slump down and spew blood, El lost her composure and cried out in shock. She looked ready to shove everything aside and charge forward. I raised one hand to halt El and shook my head.
“Hoo, huuk…….”
As I regulated my breathing, Ayla rushed over to support my precarious body.
“Tondra!”
That was when it happened.
Rubaf flung his arms wide open and shouted in an impassioned tone.
“Guardian of the Great Silver Mountains!”
「……」
“Why have you forsaken us!”
「Is that you, Sherpa?」
“That is I!”
「State your name.」
“I am Rubaf, son of Pelvi!”
「Pelvi. He was but a child.」
“Yet he passed long ago!”
「……」
“After waiting solely for you his entire life!”
A voice brimming with fury echoed through the cold-air-filled space.
“Tondra. The souls of the Sherpas who perished awaiting you shall curse you eternally. Pitiful souls who died leashed like dogs, ignorant of the reason! Those souls were the true masters of the Silver Mountains…….”
「Son of Pelvi. Your rage is unjustified. I acted for your sake…….」
“Silence! I know the truth. You abandoned us to hoard the ‘Great Fragment’ for yourself and slunk into the Silver Mountains. Like vermin!”
「……How foolish. Whose shadow veils your eyes? Who whispered such treacherous delusions into your ear?」
The Crows.
The Crows.
Now the puzzle pieces aligned. Why Rubaf, a Sherpa, had joined the Crows.
‘They accused Tondra of abandoning the Sherpas to monopolize Earte’s Fragment alone.’
Rubaf had fallen for their scheme.
“Now I shall become the master of the ‘Great Fragment’ and grant freedom to all beings of the Silver Mountains.”
「……」
“Bestow new life upon those who departed…….”
“No!!!”
In that instant, Aquila screamed. Her cry was nearly a shriek. At the sound, both Rubaf and Tondra turned their heads toward Aquila.
“Mom has already become a bird. Don’t disturb her peace!”
“Aquila.”
“What kind of new life is this?! Is that it?!”
Aquila’s hand pointed toward the mangled mutant yeti. She was on the verge of tears.
“Mom doesn’t want any new life! Mom has already found her freedom!”
“I will retrieve her…….”
“You’re the slave here—who’s your master?!”
“…….”
“Why are you committing such atrocities!”
Rubaf stared at Aquila with clouded eyes before finally turning his head away. Tondra simply observed the entire exchange.
「……I’m sorry, Aquila.”
Rubaf muttered in a hoarse, fatigued voice. Was he surrendering? I scrutinized his every action.
“I must reclaim her.”
And the moment his hand dipped into his pocket……
-Tzzzzzzt!!!!
If there were an antithesis to a flash of light, it might resemble that.
Not a blaze of brilliance, but black lightning erupted around Rubaf.
“Dodge!!!!”
I wrung out my final reserves of strength to summon Ken’s tentacles once more. Bursting from warped space, Ken’s tentacles swept up El and Aquila, Khalid and Didier, Ayla and me in one go, wrapping us tightly.
-Kwagwagwang!!!!
Even shielded within the thick tentacles, the explosion’s vibrations rattled through us. Struggling to stay conscious, hot blood streamed from my nose. My vision blurred. I had expended far too much mana. I hastily pulled out the Sage’s Water Bottle and drank, but the amount was too scant. Still, it sufficed to stave off unconsciousness for the moment.
「……El, what of Lloyd?」
“He’s outside handling the yetis……. He’ll arrive soon! Just endure a little longer, Master!”
“Right. But should I pass out……. Explain the situation to Khalid and Didier then. They’ll find a way.”
These two knew Tondra, after all—they could manage. I cast [Forest Healing] on the pair who had lost consciousness. Lush green mana settled over them, slowly spreading outward.
Simultaneously, my own awareness grew dimmer. Ayla continued propping me up, yet I kept sliding.
「……I’m all right, Ayla.”
-Ungh, kngh.
I rummaged through my bosom and retrieved the [Silver Forest Flute]. A heirloom of the Sylvanus family, given to me by Darion before departing Luset.
The legendary artifact said to have lulled dozens of shadow wolves to sleep when blown by an ancestor of Sylvanus. An item that induced slumber.
“El, listen well from here on.”
“Yes, Master……!”
“Ken’s tentacles will vanish shortly. I don’t know the outside situation yet, but escape is certain. Blowing this flute will put anything to sleep. Even Tondra, if only briefly.”
「……!」
“You all plug your ears, wait for the moment, and slip away. Then rendezvous with Lloyd.”
“But Master, what about you?!”
“I have business to attend.”
I pulled cotton from my pocket and plugged Ayla’s ears, then signaled El and Aquila with my eyes. The two crammed their ears shut with anxious expressions.
‘Well done, Ken.’
The tentacles, frayed from withstanding the external blast, slowly uncoiled and began dissolving. Peering through the gaps, the outside was choked with acrid smoke. The faint, briny whiff was likely blood.
I pressed my lips to the [Silver Forest Flute] and drew a deep breath.
-Grrr...
An ominous growl accompanied a colossal presence lunging toward me to pulverize. Simultaneously,
-♪~♪~♬~♪~……!
A crystalline flute melody rang out. The entity poised to seize me halted abruptly, retreating languidly into the smoke. And……
-Thud!
-Thump!
-Boom!
I blew the flute relentlessly until no other sounds pierced the melody. As the pure, limpid tones propagated, my mana ebbed away.
‘Please, hurry, please…….’
-Kuuuung!!!!
A thunderous crash of immense weight toppling, accompanied by ground-shaking tremors.
Tondra had finally succumbed to sleep.
I glanced back. With a nod, El and Aquila hoisted Khalid and Didier, dashing off. Ayla repeatedly looked over her shoulder, but my brusque wave sent her hurrying after them.
I clawed through the choking smoke, groping toward Rubaf’s former position.
-Squelch!
“…….”
Smashed flesh and blood pools. Radiating from the center, black vein-like tendrils sprawled in every direction. Some still twitched.
‘Is this what remains of Rubaf…….’
Nothing distinctive save the veins snaking across the floor. Had everything else incinerated in Tondra’s lightning strike? I sidestepped the viscous slime.
Bracing against the opposite wall, something nudged my foot. The sedative, bundled up. It was here. I snatched the bundle and set off in search of Tondra.
-Grrr...
Soon, frigid breath washed over me. Too dark to see clearly, but the tactile scales and sheer scale confirmed Tondra. I traced the scales toward her head. The growling intensified. Presently, glinting fangs and drooping white whiskers emerged.
A single fang outstripped my leg in length. Properly beside it, it might rival my height. Spine-chilling. Cautiously, I probed around Tondra’s maw, then pried it open with all my might. Barely a sliver parted—not fully agape. Sufficient nonetheless. I thrust the sedative through the narrow gap between teeth, hearing it plop onto her tongue.
‘……Perfect, that’s done.’
Now, locate Earte’s Fragment in Tondra’s possession and escape.
‘The flute’s duration is the crux.’
The dragon’s immensity meant traversing from jaws to feet consumed considerable time. Visibility nil exacerbated it. [Owl’s Eye] illuminated darkness, yet smoke proved impenetrable. Ultimately, I palpated along Tondra’s form to her foot.
‘Ankle here—nearly there.’
Verifying the rounded joint, a few more steps yielded claws. At last! I bolted to the rear of the hunkered claws. There……
-Bubble bubble.
No Earte’s Fragment—instead, a black mucous pool roiling like infernal lava. Surrounding it teemed the prior black veins.
-Bulge...
-Slosh, slosh!
The black mucus converged, gradually assuming shape. Amid the tangling, seething mass, Rubaf’s face flickered into view and out. Grotesque. I yanked Hydra’s fang from my belt.
-Shwaaak!!!
Black veins anchored to the floor lashed at me like whips.
-Sizzle!!!
Hydra’s fang severed the vein; potent venom on the cross-section cauterized it amid sizzling and putrid fumes. I slashed relentlessly at the surging veins. Yet they proliferated swifter than I felled them.
“Damn……!”
-……Ha, ha……. Ha. Gu...rluk……. Th...is... much, huh......?
Rubaf’s ephemeral face beneath the mucus contorted in a rictus grin. It ballooned further. My strength flagged. Damn, damn……. Pushed back steadily, that instant—
-Sgak!
A familiar gleam flashed.
“You okay?”
Lloyd.