Overwhelming performance
Overwhelming performance
"Wasn't it a bit lacking? It scattered too quickly."
Saklasi scratched his head and said, looking embarrassed by the shocked reactions around him.
He had fired it with a Transcendent-level [Wish], but that thin stream of water went out the window and scattered shortly after.
Unless it was fired from point-blank range, it was practically meaningless.
However, for the Emperor, the lethality of the water stream wasn't what mattered.
'The status of his [Wish] is just too high....'
For example, even though all three were High-ranking, Count Bruno's butler believed that even if he and the Count combined their strength, they wouldn't be able to oppose Princess Katerina.
It was only now that he realized there was a difference in status even among Transcendents.
It was the first time the Emperor had been so shocked by someone's power that his jaw had dropped.
Honestly, considering the reverse correction of the Soi tribe and the reverse correction of water ability users, he had thought his physical ability would be a step below his own.
Furthermore, he hadn't considered [Mist Transformation] or [Tsunami] to be [Wish]es with any special lethality.
'A being who can truly kill me has been born.'
When he heard Saklasi's [Wish], the Emperor finally acknowledged it.
'The Monkey King wasn't a Transcendent either. He was a Seongwi-level ability user infinitely close to a Transcendent.'
The 'Golden Staff', which only the monkey beastkin who achieved the Monkey King Mythic Awakening could inherit. The Monkey King wielding the 'Golden Staff' was quite threatening.
'That strange thing would grow longer and bigger, so I had quite a hard time suppressing him.'
However, even without using 'Before the Sun', the Emperor, a fire ability user, was not pushed back in physical ability by the Monkey King, who was an enhancement ability user. A Transcendent is a Transcendent.
'Perhaps frustrated by constantly losing to me, he turned his eyes to the United Kingdom. At first, he wasn't that crazy of a bastard.... What on earth turned him into such a cruel mass murderer? And....'
The Emperor suddenly thought of his thirteenth daughter. The mischievous princess who had left, insisting she would get married despite his stern warning that it was absolutely forbidden, whom he could never see again.
He had experienced countless partings while living for over 2000 years, but thinking of his departed daughters still made him miss them and feel sad.
While the shocking [Wish] he had just witnessed shook the Emperor's composure and brought up memories he wanted to forget, Saklasi said in an innocent voice.
"I thought of a good method."
"Hm? Yeah.... Go ahead."
'?'
Saklasi was puzzled by the Emperor's sudden change in reaction, but he had no time to worry about it because his anticipation of whether what he had conceived would be implemented as planned was too great.
Thinking, 'It's not a world where things just go poof like magic,' he held his sword again and aimed his index finger out the window.
Instead of a thin stream of water fired from the tip of his fingernail, he sent it through his fingertip and increased the thickness to match his finger.
And he packed the pressure of the ocean into a single finger joint.
He added supersonic rotation to the water stream that was about to be fired.
Saklasi smiled at the name of the [Wish] that suddenly came to mind as he thought that.
[BOOM]
Bang! Kiiiiiiing—!
'Huh? My finger exploded?'
A sharp, ear-splitting sonic boom followed the sound of Saklasi's finger bursting.
It was no wonder his finger burst. As the water stream containing all the pressure of the ocean was ejected while rotating at supersonic speeds, Saklasi's body couldn't withstand the recoil.
It was unexpected that the tip of his finger would burst, but it didn't matter.
Because before the blood from his burst finger could even wet the floor, it turned into seawater and returned to Saklasi's finger, perfectly regenerating it.
The Northern unit members belatedly covered their ears at the ear-splitting sonic boom, then trembled at the surreal sight.
'Crazy, that's not a human....'
'Is the Water Transcendent's body made of Elixir?!'
'The burst finger...... it went back before the blood could even wet the floor?!'
Even Sonya, who had a face as cold as her personality, was still standing there with a stupid expression, her mouth hanging open.
The Emperor also thought, 'That would be hard to dodge even if it wasn't at close range....'
And he was thinking about quickly bestowing the name 'Drebin' and which of his daughters he should marry him off to. He figured, 'It wouldn't matter if it's a marriage between blood-related nobles.'
"How is it? I think I can cut the glacier sufficiently now, right?"
Saklasi looked at the people, smiling brightly, happy that things had gone according to his plan.
In contrast, the Northern unit members were looking at Saklasi with fearful faces.
They were thinking, 'At least 'Before the Sun' has the restraint of causing innocent casualties or natural destruction! That thing has no restraint, and even a High-ranking ability user would get sliced up by it!'
"Doesn't it hurt? Are you planning to pierce the dragon beastkin's wings with that?"
The Emperor asked, looking at Saklasi's finger with a worried face.
"Yes, it's fine. And rather than piercing their wings first, I'm going to lift the glacier and cut it with a hand blade. If the dragon beastkin pop out, surprised by the sudden event, I plan to stop their blood and suppress them all."
"Hm? What do you mean? Stop their blood?"
"Come to think of it, blood is also water. It's one of my Transcendent-level [Wish]es. It takes a bit of time to stop the blood of Seongwi-level ability users, though. I heard the ministers of 「Raigen」 are High-ranking ability users, and I was able to stop a dozen of them at once instantly. I think it's possible for Seongwi-level ones too."
"Uhh.... Okay, let's go. Yeah, I want to watch...."
'Why didn't she tell me anything about this!' The Emperor scolded Marina in his mind and gradually gave up on understanding.
'Stop their blood? Even a simple stream of water is terrifyingly scary when handled by a Transcendent, but was that [Wish] with the strange name [BOOM] really meant to show overwhelming power?'
Saklasi was curious about how the people in this world, which didn't have an alphabet but used English place names, would accept the word he had said.
The Northern unit members didn't accept the word 'BOOM' as an onomatopoeia for an explosion.
Instead, they just thought, 'The Transcendent, an incomprehensible being, speaks incomprehensible words indeed.'
"Now, bring the princess. It would have been meaningless even if we had seen Saklasi's [Wish] in advance."
He hadn't fully trusted the princess, so he had kept her isolated in another room until now.
In fact, the Emperor had thought that [Wish]es at the level of [Mist Transformation] or [Tsunami] were [Wish]es that would be difficult to use to suppress many dragon beastkin who possessed monster-like physical abilities.
If there was nothing greater than this, he had intended to hide it in advance so they couldn't prepare, but now there was no need for that at all.
'To think he can neutralize even Seongwi-level ones at once.'
It didn't matter if things didn't go according to Saklasi's plan. Even if he just suppressed all the High-ranking ones, they would lose their will to fight, and if the nine Seongwi-level dragon beastkin fought to the end even while knowing he was there....
'This time, it would be nothing but complete annihilation.'
If the glaciers that make up the Land of Eternal Cold melt, the continent would also be in danger due to the rising sea level. It was a region where 'Before the Sun' could not be used recklessly.
He wondered if the dragon beastkin knew this 2000 years ago, but the Emperor thought, 'As a result, they really chose a great place to run away to.'
Ariun stared blankly at Saklasi with an expression that said, 'This person is a Transcendent...,' but the Emperor did not completely cast aside his suspicion of Ariun.
Even if oaths were absolute to the dragon beastkin, it would be over if they broke the oath and took their own lives.
Even if Ariun joined the dragon beastkin side again, the Emperor judged that he would not be in any danger. However, he had told Sonya to stay here because he was worried about her, but Sonya didn't listen.
"I really want to see the Water Transcendent's [Wish] with my own eyes."
"Don't worry too much, Your Majesty. I will risk my life to protect Princess Sonya."
"We will also devote our lives to making the Captain's safety our top priority."
"Alright, I trust you. If it's dangerous, evacuate immediately. My seventeenth, Sonya."
"Yes, Mother."
When the Emperor reluctantly gave his permission, the engine of the Imperial transport infiltrator started. Finally, the expedition to the Land of Eternal Cold had begun.
"Is there still no word from the 「Raigen」 Kingdom!"
"Hyung-nim, given the distance, it will take time. At least a month—"
"Aurin must have already confessed everything! If we strike first, won't 「Raigen」 join us even if it's late! How long do you expect me to wait!"
It was when the first, Kasak, and the second, Juchir, were having a conversation.
"Your Majesty!! A sentry reports that something is approaching at a very high speed!"
"Damn it, fuck! In the end, Ariun spilled everything to the Empire!"
Kugugugugu——!!!
"What is this! Why is the ground shaking all of a sudden!"
Suddenly, the massive glacier they were on was shaking as if there were an earthquake.
"D-Dragon's Ascent! A, a very strange natural phenomenon has occurred!!"
Above the Land of Eternal Cold. The infiltrator was hovering in place, stopped.
I said I would start right away and generated a massive Dragon's Ascent beneath the glacier from inside the infiltrator. However, despite the size of the Dragon's Ascent being quite large, the glacier didn't lift easily.
'Then I should just make it bigger.'
Bigger
Even bigger
As the size of the Dragon's Ascent grew enough to wrap around the bottom of the glacier, the glacier began to lift slowly.
A Dragon's Ascent, ten times the size of a high school playground, began to rise above the sea.
Kugugugu—!
"I don't see any dragon beastkin. I guess this isn't the glacier."
I said and turned around, but the Northern unit members looking at me stared at the Dragon's Ascent with shocked eyes, then looked at me.
"Ariun didn't betray us after all! Informing the Empire in advance was definitely the right thing to do! I never imagined a Transcendent would be at this level."
Ariun said, shouting as if he couldn't hide his excitement.
And the Emperor showed a rare sight all day today. He was scratching his face and saying, 'Hm.... I see.' It was then.
"You bastards!!!"
A few dragon beastkin shot out from the glacier on the other side.
"I've already heard about airplanes!! A chunk of tin! It'll be a sight to see what happens when you guys, who can't even fly, fall when I smash it!"
"You inferior beings who weren't born as dragons!"
"If the Emperor is there, don't hide and come out!"
The dragon beastkin gathered, and before long, there were dozens of them. It was my turn to step up before the infiltrator was attacked.
I grabbed a board to use as a foothold and threw myself outside. Immediately, a stream of water rose up and softly supported my feet. The dragon beastkin's gazes gathered at my sudden action.
"You inferior Soi tribe bastard! Where do you think you are, barging in!"
"If you don't want to die, call the Emperor!"
[BOOM]
Bang! Kiiiiiiiiing——!!!!!
I manifested my [Wish] and swung my hand blade like lightning. This time, my hand blade part burst completely, but as expected, it didn't matter.
The dragon beastkin who were rushing at me hesitated, looked at my hand blade that was instantly recovering with shocked faces, and then turned their heads toward the sound of the glacier splitting.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!
"W-what! You? What did you do!"
The massive glacier began to slide slowly, showing a smooth cross-section.
At that moment, one of them rushed at me from behind.
'I have to show overwhelming power!'
I didn't dodge on purpose. Instead, I turned my body into water. Thanks to that, the dragon beastkin's sword blade easily sliced my upper body diagonally. Just as I was sliding down, misaligned like that glacier,
"You were careless! You monster-like bastard! I killed—"
The dragon beastkin shouted, intoxicated with a sense of victory. Well, this didn't matter either.
I grabbed my thighs with both arms and, as if fitting them back together, turned my waist slightly from side to side, locking it into place like interlocking gears.
This was all just a performance.
"W-what! What is this! What kind of nightmare am I having!!!"
"Is he truly a monster!"
"What on earth are you!!"