Chapter 613: Dragon Raid (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 613: Dragon Raid (11)
Word Spirit (言靈).
A term for the power that dwells within words.
It sounds impressive, but it doesn't signify something incredibly grand.
No, to be precise, it seems both grand and special, yet at the same time, it isn't.
In the past, an old Olympic fencer, competing for a gold medal, repeated a mantra to himself.
'I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.'
Overcoming a disadvantageous situation, he ultimately defeated his opponent and wore the gold medal around his neck.
That is Word Spirit.
It is the act of imbuing oneself with strong trust and power through the will and force dwelling in one's words.
A power anyone can use, open to all.
Yes.
That's all I thought it was.
Until I saw that creature's power.
「Scatter.」
At the beast's single word, the snowflakes falling from the sky grew thicker, whipping about violently.
「Be crushed.」
"Kugh…!"
Mana, imbued with its own weight, descended upon the shoulders of Angela, who stood at the very front of the formation, pressing her down from above.
It was an unbelievable sight.
That with just a single word, it could command mana as if it were its own limbs… no, even more easily than that.
Old Man Merlin, stunned by the opponent's overwhelming power, asked again in a tone of disbelief.
"Are you truly saying that is Word Spirit?"
"Yes, I'm certain."
They couldn't understand the words the dragon spoke.
But I could hear them.
The creature's sharp words, forged from a powerful will.
I didn't know why I was the only one who could hear them, but one thing was certain.
"The reason it revealed the trail it kept hidden for thirty years must be because of that power."
Time is on the side of a dragon.
Unlike humans, who weaken as the years pass, dragons grow stronger with age.
Their tough hides become even tougher, their hard claws and teeth even sharper.
And that's not all.
As naturally as breathing, a dragon absorbs the surrounding mana and steadily accumulates it in its heart.
Endlessly, right up until the moment of its death.
This is why dragons are acknowledged as the strongest creatures, both in novels and in reality.
However, to put it another way, it also means they take longer to mature compared to humans, who live but for a moment.
For a human, thirty years is enough time to master a skill, but for a dragon, thirty years is nothing more than a long nap.
Therefore, there's a limit to how much stronger they can get in that time.
The dragon before us seemed to understand this well.
"It must have grown impatient."
It wants to avenge its father, who was killed by humans, but a human's life is finite.
It only has a few decades left to get its revenge.
"Even for a dragon, it must not have been confident."
Dragons are powerful from the moment they are born.
But even so, it would have been difficult for it to be certain.
Individually, humans are insignificant, but when they band together, they can exert great power.
Besides, wasn't its own father killed at the hands of humans?
"So it seems it chose to focus."
Selection and concentration.
The dragon boldly gave up sleep and focused on training, just like weak humans do.
It chose a power that was supremely fast, absolute, powerful, and even versatile.
"I see."
As my rambling thoughts continued amidst the battle, Old Man Merlin, having realized something, spoke up.
"Among the ancient texts discovered beyond the rifts, it was written that old dragons, called Ancient Dragons, could wield their own special language, the 'Dragon Language.' That must be it!"
Dragon Language, huh.
From the perspective of humans who couldn't understand the meaning of its words, that seemed like a fitting description.
No, in fact, it wouldn't be wrong to call it a power unique to them.
There couldn't possibly be another species that could wield such an absurd ability with just a single word.
"So…!"
Angela, who was at the forefront struggling to hold her ground against the opponent's attacks, her heavy shoulders straining, shouted a question.
"How are we supposed to fight that thing?!"
Right.
What's important now is to understand the enemy's power and find a way to exploit it.
But so far, all I've done is understand.
"…Honestly, I'm at a loss. I have no idea what to do about it."
I know the method.
We have to successfully land an attack on that massive body before it finishes speaking.
The problem is how to pull that off.
Didn't we just see it?
Irina's divine swordsmanship and Old Man Merlin's magic all vanished before they could even reach it.
"Then does that mean… kugh, there's no way?!"
A way.
It's not that there isn't one.
No, there has to be one.
Because if there isn't, we'll all die here.
And our deaths would only be the beginning.
The first step of a dragon filled to the brim with hatred for humanity.
If we fail to stop it, it's obvious that countless nations and people will suffer.
"Buy me some time."
"How much!"
"Uh… a lot?"
Because I wasn't sure how long it would take either.
* * *
BOOM!
CLANG!
SHIIING!
THWACK!
On the snow-covered ground, a series of eardrum-shattering roars echoed continuously.
While his party members were struggling against the young dragon's indiscriminate attacks, Kim Do-jin alone stood apart, lost in thought.
He withdrew his attention from the fierce groans and noises that constantly reached him, repeating to himself inwardly.
'Focus.'
He engraved the word 'focus' in white letters before his dark vision.
The threads of his consciousness, which had been scattered in all directions, gradually narrowed, wrapping around his surroundings in a circle.
The violent noises he had been hearing moments ago slowly subsided, finally reaching a realm of silence.
It was a perilous act.
One wrong move and he could be struck down helplessly by an enemy attack.
He knew this, yet he could remain so calm because he trusted them.
"Hyaaaaaah!"
"Hup!"
"Spatial Warp."
"Sacred Protec—!"
Because he, too, trusted his comrades without a shred of doubt—the comrades who, when he asked them to buy time, simply trusted him and said they would, without asking a single question.
'Focus.'
He enveloped his surroundings with his sharpest senses.
'Focus.'
To live up to their trust.
To survive.
For humanity… well, not really.
His senses, now calm and settled like a tranquil lake, slowly spread out from his body.
'Feel it.'
He read it.
The mana contained in the snow piling up on his head and shoulders.
The dragon's will dwelling within that mana.
—"Steal."
Responding to that will, the falling snow was relentlessly draining our mana.
The beast had chosen this snowy mountain for that very purpose.
Having chosen Word Spirit as its main weapon, this place was no longer a weakness for it.
On the contrary, it was merely a backdrop that could accentuate its strengths.
'Feel it.'
Watching the dragon use its Word Spirit so freely, Kim Do-jin was impressed.
This was not a realm one could reach easily.
Simply imbuing words with a strong will was difficult enough, but it required an even greater talent.
'An overwhelming talent for mana.'
To be precise, a power of mastery or dominion.
A power meant for dragons, who are born with an enormous amount of mana in their hearts.
That's why no other species could easily aspire to it.
But Kim Do-jin, on the contrary, saw a path there.
Didn't he have it too?
An overwhelming dominion over mana.
'This is familiar.'
Word Spirit wasn't a power that was entirely foreign to him.
It wasn't just his comrades who had supported him through numerous life-threatening crises.
It was his faith in himself.
His confidence in the effort he had built up over time.
Hadn't all of that been strengthened by words like 'I can do it' and 'I will win'?
However, that was a power confined to himself.
'The problem is how to draw this power outward.'
How could he spread the power of his words, which had only ever affected him, to his surroundings?
While all noise had vanished, only the words uttered by the dragon struck down like lightning.
「Kneel.」
He could hear it.
The solemn voice spreading out into the world.
He could feel it.
The image contained within those words, the picture it sought to create.
And the flow of mana, which followed the picture it drew to realize that image.
'I've got it.'
A tiny fragment.
The most important thing in executing Word Spirit is the image.
It's about how vividly and clearly one can cram their will and a picture into the words they speak.
It had to be overwhelmingly intense.
Intense enough to dye the mana—which simply flows and drifts through the world according to its given role, without any will of its own—with one's own intent.
Then, that engraved will must be spread far and wide.
With a dominion that far transcends humans, one that wouldn't be lacking even when compared to a dragon's.
He dyed the surrounding mana completely with his will.
To do this, he pictured it in his mind.
The image of the snow covering his head and shoulders melting away from the scorching heat of a blazing flame.
He stretched out his hand, filled with the fierce will to make it happen, and shouted.
"Melt away…!"
His deep voice pierced through the battlefield, which was ringing with the violent sounds of collision.
At the same time, the snow that had piled on his head and shoulders pattered to the ground.
A result of the vigorous movement he made as he shouted.
That was it.
Far from the image of melting snow he had wished for, he couldn't feel any heat whatsoever.
"What are you doing right now?"
Everyone's gaze turned to him.
It seemed his confident shout had managed to break through even that intense noise.
The dragon's gaze, looking at him as if he were absurd, was added to the mix.
"Uh, um."
I wanted to find a hole to crawl into.