Chapter 149 – Along with the Dragon (2)
The sea dragon, the so-called blue dragon, was known as one of the biggest among the dragon species.
It had a streamlined body more than 50 meters long, with a horned head and a powerful tail. On average, they boasted a thicker and more elongated body than that of adult dragons, who were typically 40 meters long. Clearly, there was a reason why the red clan, famous for their strength, couldn’t face them in the sea.
These dragons gave up aerial wings and chose the sea. They developed a large size as well as sharp claws. Their fins and tails could endure the strong currents.
The speed of Aquilo, the water dragon who was so thoroughly specialized for underwater, was faster and more flexible than an arrow shot on land. Every time the smoothly curved tail moved through the water, she traveled a few hundred meters and emitted an intense shock wave.
[I caught up.]
Aquilo smiled cruelly as she caught sight of ‘Pride.’ She had sensed it on land, but she couldn’t help feeling something ominous from the creature. It had reconstructed itself to be more efficient, with the feet of a mollusk and a wide tail like a squid.
Aquilo observed it for a while before opening her mouth, [Hrmm, should I just check it after I kill it?]
It wasn’t a false confidence. She had lived for over a thousand years and had never missed a kill. Yet this insignificant thing dared to come unauthorized into her domain? She couldn’t forgive it. As anger bubbled in her body, the water around her was sucked into her mouth.
This was Aqua Breath.
Water sprayed out with ultra-high pressure became a weapon in itself, and it was sharper than any sword. It had the strength to crush a thick ore to pieces. Theodore had barely survived just one drop of water, so this was serious.
Chut―――!
A thin, solid line shot out from Aquilo’s mouth. The prerequisite for the propulsion was that the narrower the output, the stronger the pressure would become. She exhaled for 8 feet, and it turned Pride’s bizarre body into a sophisticated puzzle piece.
Even a body made from adamantium wouldn’t be able to survive this! It wasn’t surprising that even with the traits, Pride’s body was rendered into dozens of pieces. This was a scene of blood and flesh scattering instantaneously. However, Aquilo sensed that Superbia was still alive.
She muttered in a small voice, [You, a slime?]
–You are foolish, but you noticed quickly.
One piece of Superbia which had been cut off confirmed it. The body of a king slime…
A king slime was an S rank slime which occupied the southern swamps, and common attacks rarely worked against it. The slime’s weakness was that it had a ‘nucleus.’ So, in order to get rid of it, she needed to destroy the whole body at once with huge firepower. It was unfortunate since Aqua Breath only exercised absolute power at one point.
–Now, it is my turn, Superbia declared as it restored its body in an instant.
‘Kraken’s tentacles.’
Before Aquilo could prepare, Superbia’s body expanded and transformed into another form. Attached to the surface of the thick eight legs, there were suckers filled with poison where one drop could poison an adult male.
It was called a nightmare by seafarers in legends and was one of the two disasters of the sea, along with the sea serpent.
[Kraken!?]
The eight tentacles stretched out swiftly and wrapped around Aquilo’s confused body. It wasn’t just the outward appearance. Aquilo felt pressure on her scales from the poison.
She was the strongest in the sea, but she wasn’t invincible. When she fought the kraken occasionally, a few of her scales would melt. Additionally, the megalodon’s skin was sharp enough to penetrate a dragon’s rugged hide.
However, she was never inferior.
Jijijik! Jijijik!
The tentacles around Aquilo’s body swelled up. No, they were trying to tear her apart. However, the tentacles were unable to cope with the power of a sea dragon, so the mollusk’s flexible body started to rupture.
Chwaaack!
Finally, Aquilo tore apart the kraken’s tentacles. The dark water became so brightly lit that all the fish fled desperately.
[…Okay, this is finally a fun entertainment.]
Superbia wasn’t an easy opponent, so she would start killing it sincerely. As Aquilo thought so, the sea water stirred and a wall of currents surrounded the whole area tightly. This was the sea dragon’s innate ability to dominate the water. Despite the complete disappearance of an escape route, Pride scoffed.
–This will be the last play of your life.
However, Aquilo didn’t have an answer. For her, the enemy was an object to be defeated, not a person to talk to. The fight had already begun. As Aquilo rushed into the waterway she had made herself, Superbia created the teeth of a megalodon.
There was a huge shock wave! The impact of the collision was so much that it even created a tsunami, as one of the rulers of the sea and a Seven Sins entered the battle.
* * *
Kururung!
Despite there being not a single drop of rain, thunder struck down. The water shook ominously as vibrations transmitted from far away reached the harbor, creating high waves. Theodore, who used magic to float above the sea, measured the echoes of the shock waves and immediately calculated the location of the epicenter.
“Over there.”
Aquilo and Superbia were on the bottom of the sea approximately three kilometers from the coast. Theo didn’t know in whose favor the fight was flowing, but it was on a scale in which he couldn’t intervene.
One side was an adult dragon whom even Veronica would struggle with, while the other was a Seven Sins grimoire with the 5th seal released. It was a battlefield from which no one but a master could return.
–Are you really going? Gluttony asked Theodore. –Stop now, User. Pride is an emotional being, but it is one of the Seven Sins grimoires. It won’t slaughter you for unnecessary things.
“Can you be sure of that?”
–…No.
Theodore smiled and shrugged at the uncertain answer.
“Well, that’s right. And even if I survive here, is there any guarantee I won’t meet it again? If it becomes even more powerful than now, the world tree won’t be able to stop it… The safety of Ellenoa and Elvenheim will be at stake.”
-……
“So I have to end it here. If it appears stronger next time, it won’t be something that people of this era can handle.”
Gluttony remained silent. The user’s survival was always of the highest priority, but it realized that Theodore’s words made sense. It was a gamble to fight here, but it would be checkmate if they fought again. Pride could reach the 6th stage by eating the sea dragon. By then, even if the continent formed an alliance, they would be wiped out in a week.
‘Seems Gluttony is easily convinced by the far-sighted view…’
Theodore, who convinced Gluttony with just a few words, stared calmly at the sea.
Aquilo’s tail would occasionally soar up, and red blood sprayed like a fountain, turning the water red. The aftermath of the two monsters’ fight beneath the surface of the water was tremendous, reaching three kilometers away.
Theodore grabbed his pounding heart, which felt like it would burst, and looked down at his left hand.
“…Is it possible?” It was a weak voice but Theo couldn’t help it.
Before facing Aquilo today, Theodore had desperately worked out measures to deal with a dragon and had obtained his own results. However, he had no time to practice it. Modern magic wouldn’t work, so he had to pin his hope on ancient magic, which he had never attempted before.
At that moment, someone’s voice reached his ears.
“Hey, Young Master! It isn’t fun if you fly alone!”
Theo already knew who it was without looking back. No, he was afraid of what his expression would be like. So, he replied without looking back, “What are you doing here Randolph? You can really die!”
“Didn’t I tell you? It doesn’t matter!”
Randolph’s level meant he could clearly see it… the struggle of the monster in the sea and the hell-like landscape they were now involved in. Yet Randolph still declared that they would go together. That loyal goodwill was such a heavy burden. Theodore opened his mouth and enchanted Randolph’s shoes.
Then he spoke in a testy voice, “Now you can even run around on the water. Of course, the surface will be different, but you can easily compensate for that.”
Randolph took one step at a time on the water, feeling delighted at not falling through the waves.
“Oh, this is good!”
He could walk on water if he utilized aura, but it was good to save energy and not have his concentration divided by the technique. As expected of a master level aura user, Randolph walked on the waves easily. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t that different from his usual form.
However, there was no more time for the two of them to talk.
“This…!”
“Be careful, Young Master!”
Jjejejeok…! Jjejejeok…!
There was no warning as the waves froze, and the warm air became freezing cold like they were in a glacier.
It was a chill reminiscent of the 7th Circle Blizzard. Theodore and Randolph stood next to each other and used their power to resist. A normal person would immediately have their muscles and blood frozen over.
The sudden chill meant his eyelashes were frozen, but Theodore easily removed the ice from his eyelashes and opened his eyes.
“The sea…!”
It was all ice. The famous frigid landscape of the north was spread out before them.
From the coast to the horizon, the whole area was frozen white. The seagulls flying in the sky fell down. They were so deeply frozen that no water emerged when Randolph placed the tip of his sword in one as a test.
The one who created this landscape…
Ku kwa kwa kwang!
Penetrating through the thick ice like it was a thin wooden board, a dragon with blue scales rose to the surface.
However, she didn’t have her usual unblemished and beautiful appearance, as her body was a wreck. Her scales had been melted by poison, and her skin had been torn by teeth. These wounds couldn’t heal, and blood flowed from them.
Who could push Aquilo so far in the sea? As if to answer that question, Pride’s grotesque body appeared on the glacier.
“Let’s go!”
If Aquilo collapsed, they were dead. Pride wasn’t an opponent that Theodore and Randolph could face. Theodore flew in the sky, while Randolph ran on the glacier. A distance of three kilometers wasn’t particularly far for two people whose speed was accelerated to the maximum, but they couldn’t help sweating from the intense nervousness.
Fortunately, Aquilo still resisted violently.
Kwaang!
Pride was struck by the long tail and pushed deeper into the glacier, but then it pounced at Aquilo and gouged her with sharp claws. This was probably a fearsome trait from another creature. As Theodore moved closer, he calculated the distance and prepared the magic which would be most effective.
However, there was still a big gap between them.
[Kuack, this chimera bastard is trying to intimidate…!]
As Aquilo prepared another breath attack, Pride saw an opportunity and its claws flashed.
Superbia used an unidentified poison. It was a poisonous solution capable of melting a dragon’s scales and muscles, and Aquilo couldn’t even guess its origin. If this poison hit her heart, brain, or spine, it would be a wound that could endanger her life.
Aquilo, who sensed her defeat, closed her eyes.
Kurururung!
Then lightning struck with a thunderous sound and shattered Pride. It was the 6th Circle lightning magic, Thunderbolt!
Theodore had used ‘Memorize’ to create seven Thunderbolts, so it was inevitable for even a master to suffer serious injuries. The seven thunderbolts struck the unprepared Superbia, stopping its nervous system momentarily.
Then in front of Aquilo, a red cloak fluttered down.
“You will probably tell me not to interrupt,” the magician, who had inherited one of the Seven Sins, spoke as he thoroughly prepared for battle. “But Aquilo, I have a previous appointment with this creature.”