Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Souls, and Souls (15)
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The moon moved.
-Whoooosh...
No, it merely appeared to move.
In the silence and stillness of the darkness,
-Whoooosh...
A hot wind blew from somewhere.
-Caw... Caw... Caw...
-Caw... Caw... Caw...
Piercing through the ominous cries of the crows.
-Roooaaarrrrrr!!!!!!!!
Jet-black flames engulfed the night sky.
In an instant, the formation of the crow flock circling the red moon like guards in the air broke apart. Flutter! Flutter! Accompanied by the rough beating of wings, the crows' screeches tore through the sky as sharply as if ripping it open.
-Caw! Caw! Caw!
-Caw! Caw! Caw!
The shadows of the crows that had been covering the faces of the mercenaries lying flat on the ground crumbled and scattered in a flash. And then.
-Saaah...
Black ash began to fall from the sky.
"Wh-what is this...!"
Dawood, unable to grasp the situation properly, looked up at the sky with a panicked face. The red moon had only a very brief moment left until it returned to its position. And yet, suddenly...
-Roooaaarrrrrr!!!!!!!
Once more, black flames blanketed the night sky. Not even the red moonlight could pierce through the black flames. Complete darkness. Faced with immense terror, Dawood collapsed to the ground with a thud.
-Flutter...
-Flutter...
What emerged through the black flames was neither moonlight nor the crow flock. With the sound of enormous wingbeats, it revealed itself—a being with scales gleaming ominously in the moonlight...
-Roooaaarrrrrrrrr!!!!!
...A dragon!
"Theo. Fun. This."
"Yeah, yeah."
A black dragon massive enough to blot out the entire moon. With every movement of Legion's wings, the black ash left from incinerating the crows scattered in all directions. Like black snow.
"......!"
Gods, demons, and dragons. The shock, terror, fear, and confusion that humans instinctively feel upon encountering such omnipotent beings overwhelmed Dawood's entire body. His legs gave out, and the trembling throughout his body wouldn't stop. When he met Legion's red eyes, Dawood lost control of his bladder right then and there. For a noble to wet his pants—there could be no greater shame—but Dawood was in no state of mind to feel shame right now. However.
"...Lord Dawood, this way."
Fabio was different. Fabio too was pale from the aftershocks of facing an overwhelming presence, sweat pouring down like rain, but he didn't collapse pathetically like Dawood or wet himself. Thanks to tempering his mind with Black Opium and sorcery, he avoided such an ugly sight.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Leaving Dawood, who couldn't even breathe properly, behind, Fabio stood as straight as he could muster and looked up at the sky. The beautiful and terrifying being, wreathed in red moonlight like a halo—the blood-red eyes of the black dragon gazed down at Fabio.
Why was a black dragon here! Hadn't the black dragons gone extinct after the 'Death Swamp' incident? No, more than that, what reason did this black dragon have for interfering with this ritual! Dragons had vanished from this continent long ago, no longer concerning themselves with humans...
"......!"
In that moment, Fabio doubted his own eyes.
Someone appeared atop the black dragon's head. He couldn't make out the face in the backlit silhouette, but clearly, someone was looking straight down at him.
That figure, neither god nor demon—who could it be?
Fabio instantly realized that this shadowy figure atop the dragon was the culprit who had ruined this ritual. But how? How had he tamed a dragon? Unanswered questions stabbed at Fabio's mind, but...
Right now, there was something that had to be finished.
"...Great one! Why do you interfere with our task!"
Fabio dropped to his knees like a slave, bowed his head, and shouted as if vomiting blood. At the same time, he reached for the dagger hidden near his ankle. He could feel the dragon's shadow drawing closer.
"...Task?"
"......"
"What kind of confidence lets you call this mass slaughter a 'task'?"
The man atop the dragon, Theodore, muttered as if it were pathetic.
"Surrender. I'll spare your life at least."
"......"
"...Ah! Was that line too villainous just now?"
Fabio ground his teeth, gripping the dagger so hard his knuckles turned white.
Even in that moment, the moon was inching toward the center of the sky. Just a little longer now, and the ritual would be complete...
"Urgh..."
The crows that would slit the mercenaries' throats had been reduced to black ash by the dragon's breath, making it impossible to proceed with the original plan.
In that case...
'...Even if it costs this body its life, I will uphold His will.'
The man riding the dragon had now descended to the ground and was slowly approaching Fabio. Fabio swallowed dryly. A metallic tang filled his mouth.
"These damn crows are getting on my nerves."
Muttering to himself, the man stopped in front of Fabio, crouched down slightly, and reached out a hand. Probably to pull back Fabio's hood and check his face.
The moment his hand touched the black hood,
"...For my mother's vengeance!"
Fabio swung the firmly gripped dagger.
* * *
-Roooaaarrrrrr!!!!!
The moment Fabio swung the dagger, terrifying black flames poured from behind him. I knew Legion's black fire couldn't harm me (That's right. A dragon's breath 'never' harms its contractor.), but I still flinched in surprise and hesitated for a moment.
"......!"
Damn it, isn't this guy reduced to ash like the crows? I reached out toward the small hooded man in front of me. And at that instant.
-Psssh...
Fabio—no, what had been Fabio—had half his body turned to ash and collapsed completely. Dust rose like smoke and slowly settled. Damn, my suspicions were right after all. Only Fabio's lower body remained, still kneeling. A gruesome sight.
"Legion, if you act on your own like this...!"
"Theo. But. Bad. That guy."
"Yeah. He's bad, sure, but...!"
"Theo. No. Die."
"Legion."
"Theo. I. Saved. You."
"......"
Legion tilted her head and looked up at me, wagging her tail like a puppy. Like a dog that had knocked over the trash can and was now acting cute to avoid scolding.
'...The problem is, it works.'
That's right. Even though Legion was the size of a house—no, a mansion— she looked like a newborn puppy to me. I ended up forgiving everything... This won't do. I need to educate her properly from a young age. I spoke to Legion in a stern voice.
"Even with good intentions, acting on your own is forbidden."
"......"
Grumble. Legion whined deep in her throat. But I maintained my stern demeanor.
"It's reflection time, Legion. Come back."
"Hiiing..."
Legion grumbled, fidgeting with her claws and slamming her tail on the ground, but under my stern gaze, she let out a soft sigh laced with black flames, flapped her wings, and soared high into the sky. She spun elegantly in midair before shrinking back into a tiny lizard and landing in my inner pocket.
"Behave yourself."
"......"
"Answer me."
"Theo. Got it. I'll behave."
"Good."
I could swear I heard something like 'Theo mean, blah blah,' but now wasn't the time to indulge Legion's grumbling. I turned back around and began rummaging through Fabio's lower body—specifically, his pants pocket. Just in case something was left.
-Psh!
Then.
-Psh!
From the half-remaining corpse of Fabio—precisely his lower body, more precisely from within the severed spine—something shot out at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
"......!"
It was two tentacles. The tentacles stretched out long at incredible speed. Their movement had a clear target. The two tentacles were extending straight toward the unconscious mercenaries—the 'sacrifices.'
'No way!'
I instinctively looked up at the sky. Nothing could interfere with the heavens now. The moon was finding its position, scattering red moonlight. No...
It had found its position.
"Lloyd! Sword!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs. The two of them had seen the tentacles too and were charging toward them with their weapons drawn. Everything seemed to unfold in slow motion. The rising moon, the tentacles reaching for the sacrifices, the comrades rushing to block them.
And.
-Pierce!
-Pierce!
-Pierce!
-Pierce!
-Pierce!
Chilling sounds of penetration echoed through the quiet night sky.
"No!"
Each tentacle pierced the napes of the encircled mercenaries at blinding speed. Like threading pearls onto a necklace, as the tentacles speared through their napes, red blood began bursting forth. It all happened in an instant.
-Slash!
-Slice!
Lloyd and Karl severed the tentacles midway, but they had already pierced nearly half the mercenaries' necks. Blood flowed, soaking the ground, and red moonlight poured down upon it.
From the two severed tentacle strands, black, viscous liquid began oozing out. The mercenaries' blood and the black liquid mixed, stretching out stickily. The mercenaries' blood alone surely wouldn't have been enough, but blended with the black liquid from the tentacles, that ominous blood reached far, far out.
And the blood-soaked earth, with moonlight cascading upon it, began to form a certain 'shape.' No, not just a shape. This was 'sorcery.'
'No, the sorcery is incomplete!'
That's right. After all, we'd saved half the mercenaries, so the ritual lacked the necessary sacrifices—the 'blood.' Thus, the sorcery was bound to be incomplete. So, so...!
"Arrrrghhhhhh!!!!!"
As I desperately racked my brain, a horrific scream erupted from behind me. I gasped and turned around. There...
"Arrrrghhhhhh!!!!!!"
Was Dawood, screaming with light identical to the red moonlight pouring from his eyes and mouth.