Chapter 97 - Those who Seek Their Own Destiny (6)
9
At that moment, Leticia was outside the castle with Duran. She was battling the forces being led by him.
She was leery about being separated from Yuren, but she had no choice. Yuren was in such poor shape, so she had hidden him before she stepped forward to fight.
However, she had observed the Magic Eyes being retracted, and an explosion came from within the castle. She knew there was a battle going on inside the castle.
His use of the Forbidden technique of summoning a Demon was probably a necessity.
Even though the situation had become chaotic and desperate, Leticia"s cool-headedness never eroded. Duran was trying to confuse her senses by using Clones, but she blocked every one of Duran"s sword strike with her spear.
Pah-ah-ah-ahng!
When the explosion rang out, Leticia had already bounced off Duran"s sword, and at the same time, she showed off her intricate control over her power by getting in a counter. Duran"s shoulder protector was ripped away, and the cold energy gathered around this region.
“Hmmm.”
While the battle was ongoing, the surrounding had turned into a scene straight out of winter. She was called the Cold-blooded Queen, and she possessed Dragon Demon magic, which was on par with the high ranking Dragon Demon officers residing within the Plain of Darkness.
“As expected of the Dragon Demon King"s dog, your sense of smell is quite keen. Yuren is great at covering his tracks, yet…….”
“Both of you will soon be dragged away like dogs.”
“Really? You master is opposing someone that may have the means to kill her. ”
Both combatants could feel the clash of enormous powers nearby.
In such a situation, Leticia was not the one, who was restless. Unexpectedly, it was Duran, who felt restless. He trusted Niberis" power. However, at the same time, she was the daughter of Saibein, who had been Duran"s savior. Niberis was the direct descendant of the exalted Dragon Demon King, and he was worried she would get hurt.
On contrast, Leticia was calm.
‘Yuren. If you die here... The guide in your dream was a trick used by the Demons to push you towards your own destruction.’
She didn"t fuss over something she had no control over. All she could do was to do her best in solving the problem in front of her eyes.
The two of them had been in an intense pursuit battle with the Dragon Demon king worshippers. It hadn"t been a wise decision for them to enter the County of Karzark. The Dragon Demon king worshippers alway kept an eye on this land. Yuren and Leticia was well aware of this fact.
Still, Yuren insisted that he had to go to this place.
‘The guide within my dream said that I"ll meet my destiny here.’
…when she heard his words, Leticia thought really hard as to whether Yuren really had lost his mind. She had allied herself with him, because he had been too talented. Moreover, they had the same goal. She had a.s.sessed that he was of sane mind.
Had she been wrong?
Yuren insisted that the guide in his dream was instrumental in him betraying the Dragon Demon king worshippers. He had been subjected to constant indoctrination, and the guide had been instrumental in him breaking the bonds of fanaticism. If Leticia didn"t go with him, Yuren planned on going to the County of Karzark by himself. Leticia decided to gamble. She gave this mad plan a chance.
‘No matter how I look at this, this is crazy, but... If I was of sane mind, I wouldn"t be fighting these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.’
If she thought about it carefully, Yuren was someone she should avoid getting close to even if he had betrayed the Dragon Demon king worshippers. Even if one needed a lot of power to go up against the Dragon Demon race, one shouldn"t cross the line by calling a Demon into one"s body. The Black magicians, who went this far, were considered to be a bad egg.
However, Yuren"s intentions and actions were surprisingly just even if he had broken an evil taboo. This was why Leticia had accepted him as a comrade.
“Mmmm?”
Suddenly, Leticia trembled.
In the midst of her fierce battle, she felt the inflating magical energy of Yuren being ripped into pieces, and an oppressive Dragon Demon magic had exploded forth. Leticia let out a moan when she realized the ident.i.ty of this energy.
“…Niberis possesses Dragon Demon Qi?”
It was an unexpected situation. Even at a glance, she had been able to tell Niberis was a scary opponent. However, she never expected her to possess Dragon Demon Qi. Yuren didn"t stand a chance!
Kah-ahng!
Leticia charged Duran as she brought down her spear. The sword and the spear was interlocked with each other. Duran laughed.
“We"ll see if each of us put our trust in the right place. The result will show us.”
“Hmm. Certainly…….”
However, Leticia"s surprise was pushed down in an instant. After pushing back Duran, she spoke in an apathetic voice.
“Well, if he dies here, it is his fate..”
“…….”
Duran was taken aback. Were these two really comrades? Her comrade was in obvious danger, so how could she be so calm about it?
Leticia smiled. She had a savage smile of a predator.
“Once one enters into a battle as a combatant, one has to be responsible for one"s own life. I won"t fret over him as if he was a baby left by the river. I would be putting the cart before the horse, and it might result in my death.”
When one acknowledged each other as comrades, one also accepted the fact that one’s comrade might die. If a comrade died, the living member only had the obligation to take revenge for the dead.
Leticia had always fought with this mental att.i.tude.
“We"ll see if his fate leads him to destruction or hope.... We"ll soon find out.”
After a brief moment, the Dragon Demon magic, which had been agitating her senses from afar, disappeared as if it had been a lie.
10
“…….”
Niberis couldn’t comprehend what had happened in front of her, so she was filled with confusion.
In front of her, there was a book floating in front of her, and it possessed pages covered in pitch black darkness. This was Dragon Art"s Book of the Dark Soul, which had been pa.s.sed down from the Dragon Demon wars.
When she obtained this great relic, she was able to wield a different level of magical power. She had been in a tight battle with Yuren, but in an instant, she was able to overpower him. He had been wrecked by her.
When she was about to capture him, a sword appeared in front of her.
Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh……!
The sword had fallen in front of her like thunderbolt, and it ripped away the darkness formed by her. It wasn"t as if an overwhelming strength had exploded onto the scene. The sword had flown in, and it cut off the swirling magical wave as if it had never existed. It was akin to a sword cutting a piece of paper....
She felt a chill.
Was such a thing really possible?
‘This sword…….’
The sword possessed a white blade. At a glance, one could tell it wasn"t made out of metal. It was made out of some other ingredient.
“It has been a while.”
Then she heard a familiar voice. It was a voice of a man she would never forget.
Niberis spoke with an angry voice towards the man, who was walking slowly towards her.
“Azell Zestringer……!”
Confusion washed over her alongside her rage. Why was this man here? How come she hadn"t received any information regarding his presence here?
The Dragon Demon king worshippers were on high alert regarding Azell"s whereabouts. However, Azell and Kairen’s movement speed transcended imagination. After they left the Dukedom of Tarantos, she had received no information from her observers.
“…….”
Silence descended between the two. The Dragon Sword embedded in the ground rose up into the air by itself, and it returned to Azell.
‘Even the Dragon Sword Duke....’
Niberis located Kairen, who was standing behind Azell. She wasn"t in a good situation.
Azell suddenly spoke.
“It seems you gained a new Dragon Arts I"ve never seen you use. Since such a young Dragon Demon like you possesses Dragon Demon Qi,I"m guessing you inherited something that already existed. Actually, I remember that Dragon Demon Qi.”
Azell calmly looked over Niberis. Her Dragon Demon magic hadn"t changed much. However, it was hard to a.s.sess how much energy a magician possessed unless one fought against one. However, the mere fact that she had gained the Dragon Arts meant that she would be able to wield a different level of power.
Azell spoke.
“Before I ask you why you are here... I"m curious about one thing.”
“Are we really in a situation where we can calmly answer each other"s questions?”
“Were you guys responsible for destroying this land?”
Azell had ignored Niberis" sarcastic remarks, and he had asked the question. Niberis looked straight into Azell"s eyes, which was burning with anger, and she gave her answer.
“That"s right.”
“As expected…….”
It was true that he had suspected the ident.i.ty of culprits. Thirteen Dragons had suddenly rampaged in madness, and a large force of monsters had been ready to move into his land. It had been an unnatural event.
However, this wasn"t the only reasons why Azell had suspected the Dragon Demon king worshippers. He knew it to be true when he learned that all the descendents of Count Karzark had been eradicated.
Even if the County of Karzark was destroyed, his descendents couldn"t have all died. Of course, the women and the old would have been evacuated. Then there would have been some, who were out of the lands, at the time of the attack. So how could all of them be ma.s.sacred so thoroughly?
Someone had taken advantage of the chaos created by the Great Darkness, and the downfall of the County of Karzark. If not, there was no way everyone would have died. The only likely suspect, who would do such a thing, was the Dragon Demon king worshippers.
Azell briefly closed his eyes as he spoke.
“Thank you.”
“What?”
Niberis was taken aback at his unexpected words. Azell spoke as he opened his eyes.
“I"ll be able to hate all of you with all my heart.”
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!
A powerful magical wave was emitted from Azell. It was as if her senses was. .h.i.t by a heavy sensation. When the magical wave reached her, Niberis trembled.
‘What the h.e.l.l has he been doing?’
Azell"s magical energy couldn"t be compared to the last time she had seen him. His growth rate was unrivalled..
Unlike the Dragon Demons or the Dragon Majins, humans weren"t born with ma.s.sive amounts of power. Instead, they were able to rapidly grow their power in a short amount of time. This held true for Spirit Order Pract.i.tioners and Magicians.
Still, there was a limit on how fast one could grow. It had only been 1 year, since she had seen him last. So how could his magical energy grow so much?
‘At the very least, he is a Septuple Master!’
Cold sweat ran down her body. Even when Azell had incomprehensibly low magical energy, he had been a threat.
How was he able to gain this much magic in only a year?
Niberis used her Communication magic to gather her underlings, and she got ready for battle.
It happened at that moment.
“Ah. It really...”
Yuren was lying next to Azell"s feet, and he spoke with a feeble voice.
“The guide"s words... He was right……. The fact that he was so accurate... Even if I"m the beneficiary of such information, I... don"t feel.... too good about it....”
“It would be best if you spare your words.”
Azell didn"t even look at him as he spoke. Niberis was stoking her fighting spirit in front of him, so Azell couldn"t reveal any openings in his defense.
“Ha ha ha… Thank... you... For worrying about me....”
“I don"t" know who you are. In truth, I don"t like the fact that you stink of an evil energy, but.... You seem to be the enemy of my enemies, so I"ll spare you. I"ll give you a chance to explain yourself.”
Azell took a step forward. Kairen, who had silently stood behind Azell, took Yuren, and they retreated towards the back. After confirming their retreat, he spoke to Niberis.
“It is time for you to pay off your debts.”
“You took the words out of my mouth, the man whose name is seeped in sin.”
“I"m tired of being called by that long and unnecessary nickname. I"ll make it so that you"ll never utter those words again.”
A tumultuous killing intent exploded forth from Azell, and he charged toward Niberis.