Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Leobrant Brotherhood: Celestia (3)
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Korer Leobrant.
An executive of the Leobrant Brotherhood and Isaac's right-hand man, he was a man who had lived his entire life as a powerhouse.
Violence was everyday life for Korer.
His history, which began in the back-alley slums, had been drenched in blood from the very start.
He had always lorded over others.
Crushing them underfoot, seizing what they had, and solidifying his position through fear.
That held true even after he joined the Brotherhood, rose to become an executive, and took on the name Leobrant.
There was only one being Korer had never surpassed.
The Captain—Isaac Leobrant.
The supreme magic swordsman, regarded as the pinnacle of the Brotherhood.
"I'll tear you to shreds and make you die in agony—."
No one but Isaac could stand above Korer.
That was Korer's conviction.
And he believed that today would be no different.
Korer Leobrant was a powerhouse, after all.
Knowing that, he drew a single sword from his waist.
Shring—.
With a sharp clash of metal, Korer Leobrant's magic sword revealed itself.
"—[Demonic Sword], activate."
One of the Brotherhood's treasures bestowed upon him by the great magic swordsman, Isaac Leobrant.
The demonic sword, Partrobat.
The ancient blade of immense power began to glow.
Wooooong—.
As a blood-red light flowed forth, a hazy mirage rose around Korer.
"A demonic sword of the Brotherhood, is it? How intriguing."
Heh heh—.
A repulsive laugh burst from the doctor's lips as he faced Korer.
But Korer ignored the doctor's mockery and poured merciless power into his sword-gripping hand.
Crunch—.
Immense strength flowed into his hand where it touched the blade.
His clouded eyes snapped wide open.
His muscles throughout his body convulsed violently.
The world slowed, his mind cleared, and boundless confidence welled up within him.
"Regret won't save you now. I'll make you beg for death as you writhe in torment."
"Wonderful! That's the spirit! Now we're getting somewhere!"
The doctor twisted his neck and laughed, his shoulders shaking.
Swish—.
The tip of Korer's sword pointed at the doctor.
Boiling killing intent.
In a world staining red, Korer's eyes locked solely on the doctor.
"But they say ladies first, don't they? I'm just a researcher with no part in combat, so why don't you start with the young lady over there?"
"Begerton Antares. I'll make you learn the terror of the Brotherhood."
No long speeches were needed.
His subordinates behind him would handle some clueless noble girl without issue.
Thud—.
Korer's legs kicked off the ground.
His accelerating body charged straight at the doctor.
'I'll rip you apart head-on.'
With inhuman might, poised to pulverize his foe, he raised the ferocious blade at an angle.
Their gazes met.
The trajectory of slaughter targeted its prey.
Just as Korer's sword swung to cleave the doctor—
"Huh... far nimbler than I expected!"
"......"
Screeech—.
The doctor's shoulder twisted unnaturally, and a small mouth protruded from it.
Crack!
The gaping shoulder mouth flexed its muscles as if to seize the sword.
Its lolling tongue wrapped around the blade.
The teeth below snapped shut, poised to crush it.
"As if I'd fall for such a cheap trick...!"
But Korer's blade accelerated in an instant, smashing down on the teeth sprouting from the doctor's shoulder.
Crack, crunch—!
The white teeth shattered, fragments flying everywhere.
And Korer's assault didn't end there.
Whip—.
His sturdy leg spun half a turn with the momentum.
Dodging the monster with the blade in its mouth, a spiked boot drove into the doctor's abdomen.
Boom—!
A dull thud erupted from the doctor's gut, sending Begerton's body flying upward.
"Kehack...?!"
Thud! Roll—.
The doctor tumbled across the ground, spraying blood.
His battered body finally halted after slamming into a nearby tree.
Hack, kehack—.
Blood-laced vomit spewed from the doctor's mouth.
"Ugh... huff... doesn't it hurt...?"
"Don't play the victim. A monster like you won't die from a single kick."
"I'm... a respectable researcher... I can't fight directly...!"
Even through the pain, he grinned with bloodied teeth.
Smirk.
Despite his wounds, the doctor maintained his repulsive smile.
Grind—.
Korer ground his teeth as he watched.
"I want to see that ugly mug of yours begging for mercy."
He yearned to twist that repulsive face with excruciating pain and despair.
Blood for blood. Pain for pain.
Those who interfered with the Brotherhood had to pay the price.
That was the rule of the Brotherhood that Korer upheld.
"Cough... Looks like fighting a Brotherhood executive... without a chimera... was a bad idea..."
"Too late for regrets now."
"Regrets? Ridiculous... cough, ow... that hurts. Anyway, didn't I warn you?"
Ptooey—.
The doctor spat blood-mixed saliva and lifted his head.
Then, he spouted something incomprehensible at Korer.
"......Warning?"
Korer asked as he approached the doctor.
Right then, the doctor cackled and replied.
"Ladies first... meaning, you should attack our young lady first."
"Spouting nonsense again."
Swish—.
Korer raised his sword.
And just as the Brotherhood's number two was about to swing down—
—Grah!
"......!"
Sudden as could be—sensing inexplicable malice, Korer frantically raised his sword in panic.
From his blind spot, a streak of pure white mana shot straight out.
Flash—!
Facing the vivid advance, Korer barely tilted his sword to deflect the trajectory.
Boom! Roooar—!
A white beam grazed his cheek.
Dense smoke billowed along its path.
Scorching heat melted everything in its wake.
Sizzle—.
The ground screamed as it cooled from the momentary strike.
"Wh-what... is this...!"
Korer's eyes, filled with shock, turned to the source at the trajectory's end.
In the midst of his Brotherhood members charging in.
There stood a radiant golden-haired girl, clutching a white dragon hatchling as she glared at Korer.
"Stop tormenting the doctor!"
—Grah, graaah!
Moreover, she issued a clear warning toward Korer and his men.
A pure white baby dragon.
Faced with a sight from legends, Korer instinctively knew 'it' had fired the attack.
"A dr-dragon...?"
His voice trembled roughly at the unbelievable scene.
A mana dragon cloaked in white.
For the first time in his life, Korer racked his brain to comprehend the sight before him.
"Dragons... there's no way something like a dragon exists in this world—!"
It defied understanding.
And it defied acceptance.
Because dragons shouldn't exist in this world.
Thus, Korer reached one conclusion.
It's a crude illusion magic mimicking a baby dragon—toy at best.
That was Korer's verdict.
"You dare mock me with parlor tricks like that?!"
"......"
"You and that lunatic over there will writhe together in agony until death—!"
Kill the toy monster.
Kill the naive noble girl controlling it.
With that resolve, Korer's sword pulsed with dark mana.
Swish—.
The girl's hand stroked the white baby dragon's head.
"You've been holding back all this time... must have been frustrating, huh?"
—Grah?
Warm affection in her touch.
The baby dragon tilted its head.
Then, Peria's hand gripped her pendant.
"But it's okay now. I give you full permission."
—......
"So from now on... show everyone your magnificent true form."
The marquis's eldest daughter, Peria Alferatz.
The pure white dragon in her arms began to glow.
Peria's eyes fixed on Korer and the dragon.
Finally, her quiet command to the white dragon flowed out.
"......[Tyrant Dragon], full release."
Flaaare—!
Gentle light overflowed in all directions.
Rumble—.
Mana waves spread, vibrating the air.
The air around Korer shifted.
His eyes looked up at the sky.
"......"
The change happened in an instant.
Korer's eyes captured the incomprehensible sight.
"Ah—."
—Shadow.
A vast 'shadow' draped over the ground where feet now stepped.
The shadow filling Korer's vision was enormous—immensely so.
Something blotting out the brilliant sun had stepped onto the mountain path, trapping the Brotherhood in darkness.
"Th-this... is..."
It defied comprehension.
That something radiating such brilliant light could cast so massive a shadow over them.
Sigh—.
A short sigh escaped Korer's lips.
Fear—.
Then, terror of the unknown gnawed at his chest.
Instinct—.
Finally, survival instinct gripped his sword.
—......
The stoic monster's eyes gazed down at the ground.
The proud, beautiful white spirit's appearance reduced all who looked up to it to insignificance.
A colossal body like a work of art exhaled smoke from its maw as it eyed its prey.
Thoom—!
Faced with a size he'd never imagined, Korer felt his heart stop for a moment.
"Dr-dragon... why... are you here...?"
The dragon from legends glared at him right before his eyes.
It was unmistakably a dragon.
The ancient legend passed down through countless tales, gazing down on humanity.
—Tyrant Dragon.
It stared at its foes, rendering all prior depictions pale imitations, suffused with unreal beauty.
Roooar—!
Its pure white tail swept the ground once.
"Guhaak...!"
"Uwaaaah...!"
As the massive tail struck the earth, several members were swept away amid dust clouds.
Merely a single swing.
Yet after that colossal blow landed, nothing lived along its path.
Crumble—.
Overwhelming weight comparable to its immense body delivered shock to the ground.
The Brotherhood members watching the aftermath fell silent.
"......"
"......"
In the silence, Korer looked up at the dragon.
A handful of his men dead from one strike.
Even the elite, top-tier human fighters, pulverized without a chance.
Red bloodstains scattered on the ground.
That alone proved someone had been there.
"Im-impossible..."
Korer Leobrant.
He had always looked down on others.
Born with a massive frame and overwhelming strength, he towered over the small.
No one was larger than Korer.
Even burly men seemed like children before him.
Yet now, he—
Felt like a pathetic child.
———.
Smoke mingled with the dragon's breath from its jaws.
It was simply too vast.
Just extending its head could shake buildings; a wingbeat could summon gales.
He had no confidence his sword could even scratch it.
The blade in his hand seemed like a flimsy twig before that size.
"How... do we even..."
Korer Leobrant was a master of murder.
He had killed since childhood.
Faced countless foes, felled them, and carved his mark in their places.
He knew how to fight people.
He had slain many, made them writhe in terror.
Even proud knights had begged pathetically after repeated defeats before him.
But even Korer—
Had no idea how to face a monster that size.
"How... do you even beat this...?"
Pathetic.
Everything felt pathetic.
He recalled the legendary knight battling a fortress-sized dragon.
The image of the brave knight charging on horseback flashed in his mind.
Yet it still seemed pathetic.
Wretched, pathetic, utterly reckless.
Before that colossal evil dragon, the knight's lance wouldn't even qualify as a needle.
"......"
Only now, sword aimed, did he finally understand.
This wasn't meant for humans to fight.
His raised sword felt like it could never reach.
The overwhelming difference in size—
No human blade could overcome it.
The ludicrous image of a knight charging a windmill on horseback flickered like a lantern slide.
Click—.
Korer's rigid face raised his sword toward the enemy.
The shadow-shrouded blade targeted the dragon's massive body.
———.
From the sword's tip, the dragon's head began to approach.
In that brief instant, with each passing moment, the dragon's head loomed larger before Korer.
Thud—.
Split scales came into view.
Thud—.
Vertical slit pupils met his gaze.
Thud—.
Razor-sharp fangs filled his vision.
Shring—.
Gripping his aimed sword, terror-stricken Korer glared at the foe.
The approaching colossus.
The frail adult resisting the unknown raised his sword.
"Aaah...!"
The blood-red blade pierced the mana dragon's jaw.
Crunch—.
Korer's consciousness went black.