Episode 301: The Soaring Guardian Deity
Hans, Charlotte, and Andrew moved cautiously through the city. To be suddenly attacked by Monsters would mean certain death.
As Hans thought this, the Monster he least wanted to encounter entered his vision.
“Hey, look at that!”
Hans pointed to the sky, and Charlotte and Andrew followed his gaze.
Countless Dragons flew in the sky, surveying the area as if they owned it.
“Those are Blue Dragons!! Why are they in the city?!”
Charlotte widened her eyes in surprise, but Hans calmly analyzed the situation.
“Most likely, the anti-air magical weapon was destroyed by the tsunami. Otherwise, Dragons wouldn’t be able to come this far.”
Charlotte and Andrew looked up at the sky and swallowed hard.
Being attacked by that many Dragons would be overwhelming. The three hid in the shadows of a building, trying to avoid being spotted by the Dragons.
“We’ll go when that group of Dragons is gone!”
Charlotte and Andrew nodded silently at Hans’s words.
As the three held their breath and watched the sky, something unexpected caught their eyes.
Another Dragon was flying in from behind the group of Dragons.
It was clearly a unique individual. Its size was five times that of a normal Dragon. The three were speechless at its sheer size, but its size wasn’t the only thing that made it unique.
Crystal-like protrusions emerged from all over its body.
Reflecting the light, its sparkling appearance was like a living jewel.
“Is that… ‘Ice’?!”
Hans frowned. Charlotte also furrowed her brow at the mention of “Ice.”
“Not a ‘Water’ Dragon, but an ‘Ice’ Dragon?! If so, that means it’s a Monster with Magical Power exceeding ten thousand! To think such a monster exists…”
While Charlotte was in shock, Hans also wore a grimace.
“It’s not surprising that there’s a powerful individual. The world is overflowing with Mana right now. Even the strongest Monsters can roam the land.”
“If that’s the case, is it a Unique Monster?”
Andrew, who had been listening, asked Hans.
“I’ve never seen that Monster before. It’s possible. But there’s an even worse case.”
Hans’s answer left the two unsure of what to say.
Charlotte pondered.
–A worse case than a Unique Monster…? Could there be such a thing?
In fact, Unique Monsters were rampaging around the world, causing many casualties. It was entirely possible that this was one of them.
Seeing Charlotte’s silence, Hans spoke.
“Don’t you understand? If it’s a Unique Monster other than a King, there are Lords and Dukes, but there are even stronger Monsters than those.”
Charlotte gasped and looked up.
“Could it be…”
“That’s right. If it’s a Labyrinth Guardian, there are individuals stronger than Unique Monsters. In some cases, they can even rival a King… I don’t know if that’s what it is, but it’s best to be cautious.”
The two nodded silently at Hans’s warning.
The three confirmed that the group of Dragons had flown away before stepping onto the road. They ran while watching the sky, carefully hurrying forward.
◇◇◇
“Well, well, this is quite a mess,”
Akito muttered nonchalantly, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked into the distance.
“This is no time for that! At this rate, everyone will die!!”
Yuma showed a look of impatience. The three had come to a high-rise apartment building overlooking the city to assess the situation in the Ice Kingdom.
Looking down from the rooftop, it was clear at a glance that the city was in a terrible state.
Overlapping waves had swallowed half the city and frozen solid. Furthermore, dozens of Blue Dragons were flying in the sky, making evacuation difficult.
“We have to go now!”
As Yuma was about to put his foot on the edge of the roof, Akito called out to him with a displeased expression.
“Hold on! Even if we go now, it won’t be to our credit. Unless the England government is pushed further, unless they ask us for help…”
“If we keep saying that, everyone will die!!”
Yuma put strength into his body and activated Metallization. His forearm was dyed black, transforming him into a grotesque monster. He amplified his muscle strength with Bloodstained Ore and kicked off the edge of the roof.
The concrete burst apart, and Yuma’s body soared high into the air.
His jumping power was tremendous, reaching near the wall of the Ice Kingdom. Yuma kicked off the ground again, easily leaping over the five-meter-high wall.
Rui, who was watching from the rooftop, smiled slightly.
“I’m going too. As Yuma said, if we don’t help now, the people who would give us the White Magic Gem might disappear.”
Rui also jumped off the roof. He fell fifty meters, but Rui didn’t seem flustered.
He drew the Katana from his waist, lit it with flames, and slashed it horizontally. What appeared from the tip of the sword was a bird of fire.
It preceded him to the ground, colliding and causing a large explosion. Rui deployed a Flame Barrier to block the blast and greatly reduced his falling speed at the same time.
Landing gracefully, he ran straight towards the ice wall.
“Hey, hey, hey! Does that make me the only bad guy here?! Those guys are just saying whatever they want!”
Akito grabbed Gae Bolg, which he had placed beside him, and stood on the edge of the roof.
“You want me to go, right! I’ll go!!”
He held Gae Bolg in a javelin-throwing stance and threw it with all his might. At the same time, he ran electricity through the soles of his feet and jumped, using the repulsion of the discharge.
The spear flew far ahead, but when Akito reached out and released Lightning Magical Power, the plasma stretched out and caught the spear.
Pulling the spear closer, Akito bent down and touched it.
When he poured Magical Power into Gae Bolg, the spear increased its propulsion and entered the Ice Kingdom in a straight line.
“I’m the fastest after all!”
As he was flying with a smug look on his face, there was a flying Dragon in his path.
“That’s the Blue Dragon, huh! Interesting!!”
Just as Akito entered a battle stance, an even larger Dragon entered his field of vision.
“What’s that?”
It was quite large. Moreover, its body sparkled like a jewel. Akito stuck out his tongue at the Monster, which was clearly different from the other Dragons.
“I don’t know what it is, but it looks interesting! That Dragon is my prey, so I won’t let Yuma or Rui have it!”