Somewhere in Serisis,
10:00 p.m. 19 th Banem 1092.
Bzzt!
Several beasts looked up in confusion as a lightning bolt zipped across the landscape faster than the human eye could track, a long tail, the only sign of its passing. Curiously, a flaming ball was attached to the horse by a thin mana construct shaped like a tether rope, keeping with the latter’s pace.
If one got close enough, they would have been shocked to find the lightning bolt was actually a magnificent kirin with a daeben riding on its back. Whereas the fireball turned out to be a protective shell housing a halben who sat within with a tight expression.
Kashi’s brows were knit together in a troubled expression. He could not get Lunette’s face from his mind. For a moment there, she was genuinely terrified when he reached for her. She had tried in the end to make him feel better, but he saw through her façade. She was still wary of him, and he had no idea how long it would take for things to return to normal.
Kashi sighed as he shook his head and then turned his attention to the wasteland ahead. According to the coordinates he got from Brock, he should be approaching Nornesh, the Divine Dragon’s territory right about…
BOOM!
Drixlia suddenly jerked to the side as the land beside them brilliantly exploded. Kashi’s eyes narrowed as he observed the giant crater left behind. If they were caught in that explosion…
Kashi shivered but did not have time to process his shock, as his eyes were instantly drawn to the sky, where a host of mandalas suddenly appeared. Almost simultaneously, a powerful deep voice, like gravel and grinding stone, rung out in both Kashi and Syèl’s heads.
“Go back. The next shot will not miss.”
Kashi’s eyes shone with delight. Indeed! They had entered Nornesh’s territory. Only a Divine Dragon could possess the mana reserves required to call mandalas on this scale without being physically present. The daeben, not daring to take this lightly, took out Ferulic’s Practice Bow and carefully nocked an arrow. He then looked at the fireball, which silently pulsed as if sending an agreement.
Kashi nodded and then, without saying another word, spurred Drixlia into a mad sprint towards a host of mountains in the distance.
“Foolish.” The voice sounded both disappointed and angry as several thousand mana bolts shot to the ground from the mandalas.
Kashi’s gaze turned sharp as he stared at the incoming salvo. Knowing the dire consequences of getting hit, he allowed Drixlia to run by its own judgment, raised his bow to the sky, and then shouted, “Syèl!”
“Hmph!” Syèl irritatingly snorted as he raised his right hand. “Stop!”
Following his shout, several mana bolts crashed into a translucent mana shield that appeared several dozen meters above them. CRASH! However, Syèl coughed up blood as the bolts smashed through the shield with ease.
Syèl’s gaze instantly turned severe, the laxness gone. He now knew he could not handle this so easily. As a result, he raised his second hand to the sky, and then, once more, shouted, “STOP!”
This time, a much thicker shield appeared above them. The mana bolts promptly smashed into the shield but did not manage to break through, resulting in massive explosions that turned the night into day. Despite his success, Syèl’s brows knitted in fury and worry as cracks began appearing on the shield. It could not contain the constant bombardment.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the shield shattered to pieces.
Syèl’s gaze narrowed, and, after a short pause, he made up his mind and suddenly shouted, “Change of plans. Get Ready!”
Kashi instinctively nocked his bow and trained it at the clouds above. Gritting his teeth, he roared, “Ready!”
“Incoming!” Syèl hollered back as the fireball suddenly dissipated. As the halben fell to the ground, a mana construct resembling a board appeared beneath his feet. CRASH! Gravel, dirt, and earth scattered across the landscape as Syèl excitedly surfed across the ground. “Two Seconds!” Syèl dropped his hands, disabling the mana shield before it shattered. He then dug his hands into the earth, forming two giant ditches as Drixlia pulled him along.
Two Seconds. It was a reasonably short time. Some breaths can even take longer than that. But, to experts at this level, a second was an eternity. Two was nothing short of a nightmare!
As the first second passed, Kashi’s gaze tightened as he pulled on the bow and released an arrow. Only, rather than one, a thousand arrows filled the sky. The daeben had utilized [Multi-Shot] and [Machine Gun], both of which were insanely boosted by his handicraft skill and dexterity to achieve mind-numbing draw speeds.
This, on its own, would not have been able to achieve such a high number, but thanks to Yggdrassil’s perk, Kashi was able to condense ki arrows to augment the number. Even with all this, the daeben was forced to push his absolute limits to achieve this insane number. Not even he could keep up such a barrage for long. A few seconds was the limit. Worse, following it, he would be excessively fatigued and useless for a few minutes at least.
This was something even Yggdrasil was powerless to help with, as it had to do with Kashi’s stamina and not health.
Kashi could not utilize this insane barrage in a real fight because it sacrificed power for speed. If the opponent was able to weather the storm, then he was as good as dead. However, it was worth using against cannon fodder armies. A far less aggressive version had been used in Aygorzi when he battled the daeben army.
Kashi’s arrows struck the first set of incoming salvos, unleashing a chain of explosions that blossomed in the night sky for several miles. Unfortunately, even more, bolts shot through the dense orange carpet in the sky. However, these sets were likewise met by another blockade of arrows, which once again set off a nasty explosion.
“Urgh!” Kashi groaned as a vein in his right-hand burst from the excessive strain. Thankfully, the injury healed fast, but the incident let Kashi know he would have to sacrifice his arm if he were to release another such salvo.
Luckily, Syèl suddenly shouted, “Duck!”
Kashi did as he said, but then his eyes went wide as several serpentine stone dragons dug burst out of the earth and charged toward the sky. The dozen or so dragons were roughly 10 meters wide and about 50 meters long, causing them to cover a significant portion of the sky.
The stone dragon directly charged at the beams, using their large bodies to block off as many as possible. As expected, the mana bolts shattered large chunks of the monsters to pieces upon impact, but, as they were destroyed, rocks rose from the earth to heal them.
Unfortunately, even with the dragons blotting out most of the sky, several bolts still managed to make their way through. Fortunately, they were not as many and were staggered in their approach, which made things easy.
“What a welcome!” Kashi snarled as he once again began firing arrows into the sky above—many of which crashed against the bolts. Despite the staunch defense, quite a few bolts still made it through. However, Kashi was strangely calm about those who made it through his defense. Instead, he simply nudged Drixlia, and the kirin’s eyes sparked with lightning.
Suddenly, dozens of lightning bolts branched off Drixlia’s lightning trail and then charged toward the incoming bolts. Just as Kashi and Syèl, 90% were destroyed, leaving just a small number left. These Drixlia easily dodged with deft lateral steps reminiscent of the centaurs’ way of fighting.
And so, Kashi, Syèl, and Drixlia sustained a concerted effort to weather the lightning bolts. Each of them drew on their strength reserves until, several minutes later, they suddenly found that the sky was clear.
Upon realizing they had crossed the death zone, Drixlia, Kashi, and Syèl simultaneously collapsed to the floor. They took long, deep breaths in the hopes of slowly regaining their stamina.
Syèl, whose face looked ashen, turned to Kashi and said, “You have some beasts in that world of yours, right? I need a refill. My body’s shutting down. Oh, and something strong, would you?”
“Sure.” Kashi rolled his eyes as he released a giant ape. He then looked away as he said, “This good enough.”
“I hope so,” Syèl replied with fatigue. He then snapped his fingers, and then a spike shot up from the ape’s blind spot and skewered its brain. “ [Dawn Pelmut] ” The sacrificed ape burst into a shower of blood, which congealed into a large ball, and then flowed into Syèl’s arms.
Kashi watched as color slowly returned to the halben’s face and then asked, “I thought you had fast health regen?”
“Yeah, I do,” Syèl replied as he rose to his feet and then dusted his pants. “But, being a vampire fucks with it a bit. If I don’t get some fresh blood in me, it begins to slowly stagnate. Worst-case scenario, I run out of blood and turn into a mummy.”
Kashi raised a brow as he too rose to his feet. “Well, that sucks. Not very convenient, is it?”
Syèl shrugged. “One thing this world has is an abundance of things to feed on. Besides, It’s not always this bad. Most times, a little blood is more than enough. I overdrafted, pulling out those dragons, so…”
“Huh,” replied Kashi with a curt nod. He then turned his attention to Drixlia, who had also risen to its feet, although with evident fatigue in its unsteady steps. Kashi patted the kirin’s flank as he said, “That was great, Drix! We wouldn’t have made it without you.” That was no exaggeration. Only Drixlia’s insane speed could cut through that storm before they were overrun. Perhaps Kashi and Syèl could pull it off if they risked everything, but they would definitely lose at least a limb in the process.
Kashi smiled as he looked into the kirin’s eyes. “How’re you feeling? Think you can still run?”
Drixlia harrumphed and then bumped its head against Kashi’s chest. The daeben laughed as he hugged the kirin and then said, “Alright, alright. I won’t underestimate you. But you’ll take it slow this time.” He then looked at a vast mountain range just a few kilometers ahead of them. “I don’t think we’ll be facing any more obstructions.”
Kashi, following Drixlia’s wishes, hopped aboard its back and then softly trotted down toward the mountains. Syèl once again made another mana construct. Only, to save mana, he forwent the conversion process and just made a small blood platform, which he sat on, and then made to float alongside Drixlia.
As one trotted, and one floated, Syèl suddenly let out a long sigh, drawing Kashi’s attention. Before Kashi could ask what was wrong, Syèl confessed, “You know, I’ve been wondering whether to kill you or not.”
“As one does,” Kashi remarked with a raised brow. “May I at least know why you want to kill me?”
“Well, it’s not you really,” Syèl answered with a shrug. “It’s Suzuki.”
“Yeah. No. That would—”
“Do you in too. I’m well aware of that. But I’m so pissed, I’m not really thinking straight right now.”
“…And you are pissed because?”
Syèl turned to Kashi. The halben’s expression was calm, relaxed even. Almost excessively cold. But like frost over a river, it seemed to be masking a heavy undercurrent. “Your father, the Ryumaki guy. His inventions destroyed my world. Killed my closest friends. So, I really want to kill you, and then him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Syèl sighed and gave a brief, quick rundown of his and Henri’s relationship and their eventual downfall.
By the time he was done, Kashi’s brows were squeezed in a tight frown. He looked at Syèl and said, “Listen, I am sorry for what happened to you, but I barely knew Ryumaki. Apparently, only Lunette knows what Ryu was really like. However, what I can tell you for sure, is that it was never his intent to build murderous A.Is. That just isn’t his way.”
“Yeah, I know that,” Syèl spat. “I did some research of my own. It seems the A.Is turned out that way because of extended isolation after the lead scientist died. It’s just... I needed someone to blame, or else what am I supposed to do with all this anger? I need to punish someone for Henri’s death. I feel like I will never be able to do really move on until I do.”
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Kashi hesitated but then admitted, “Look, I can’t really feel grief, so I can’t say I understand how you feel. But, rage. Rage, I do understand. I practically sleep, eat and dream of nothing but anger.”
“You don’t seem like it.”
“Yeah, well. I had two personalities before me who learned how to manage rage,” Kashi replied with a shrug. “If you really can’t move on, we can have a battle. I’ll be the personification of Ryumaki’s sin, and you can try to kill me. Don’t worry, it won’t work.”
Syèl looked at Kashi with a raised brow. “You’re crazy. You know that, right?” He then snorted and looked away. “That baseless confidence is really annoying. Forget it! I’ve lost my appetite. I’ll just kill you later.”
“Heh.” Kashi revealed a smug grin as he challenged, “You can surely try.”
Just as Syèl was about to retort, they spotted a massive golden gate, dozens of meters high, blocking the only entrance into the mountain range. A deep ravine that ran between the two largest hillsides.
Kashi and Syèl could probably fly over, but something told them that was equivalent to willfully seeking death.
Kashi’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he sensed a terrifying presence beyond the gate. “We’ll talk about this later,” said the daeben as he spurred Drixlia into a hard gallop.
However, just as the trio neared the gate, it suddenly let out a loud groan, like a beast yawning in its sleep. The earth trembled as the gate slid outward, leaving Kashi and Syèl stunned by the gatekeepers’ identities.
Dragons!
A pair of massive dragons stood on their hind legs as they pushed the gates open, vague intelligence shining in their eyes as they stared at the small squad. Beyond the gate, the trio spotted dozens of similarly sized dragons standing in an orderly line on either side of the pass like sentry soldiers.
Kashi swallowed hard as he observed the formation. “Uh… Syèl?”
“Yeah?”
“Reckon we might be fucked?”
“…Royally.”
Kashi swallowed hard as he examined the contingent of dragons spanning the lengthy ravine. However, suffused within his obvious discomfort was curiosity and wonder in a pair of shining eyes. He could not understand how so many dragons existed in a world that thought them near-extinct—especially when one considered dragons’ massive appetites. Serisis’ current ecosystem certainly could not contain these species in large numbers.
But the dragons’ numbers were not even the most shocking fact. That honor went to the intelligence in their gazes. Intelligence separated Common dragons from True Dragons. Common Dragons were like the one Kashi battled in Merriheim. Simple creatures with the body of dragons but beholden to basic instincts. Although Common Dragons were still powerful creatures in their own right, comparing them to a True Dragon was like comparing an ape to a human.
As a result, while most humes considered them all as dragons, to the proud beasts, any dragon without intelligence was nothing but a drake—a pale imitation of the real thing.
Glancing into the dragons’ thoughtful and sometimes mocking expressions, Kashi was confident they were at least Elder Dragon. But even that was impossible! Elder Dragons were extremely rare, even among True Dragons. Razznik, in his entire lifetime, only came across a few dozen Elder Dragons scattered across several dimensions. But here, dozens of them were standing guard!? How could Kashi not question this nonsensical occurrence!?
Despite his unease, Kashi buried his questions in his heart as he and Syèl walked down the ravine. Interestingly, the surrounding mountain walls gradually grew taller as they advanced. By the time they reached the end of the path, neither could make out the height of these mountain walls. These monstrosities pierced through the clouds.
The ravine path opened up to a massive crater, several dozen meters deep. Syèl and Kashi grimaced, sweat pooling on their brows as a burning heat instantly enveloped them, making it seem like they had just crossed into a furnace. Doubting himself, Kashi looked back but then noticed a thin, translucent mana wall blocking the entrance. This wall prevented mana and heat from escaping the enclosure, which was why neither had felt it until now.
Kashi examined the surrounding walls, which appeared to be red hot, and if one looked at the mouth above, it seemed like they were within a volcano. The daeben was just about to remark about the lack of volcanoes in Serisis when the ground suddenly erupted before them.
Kashi and Syèl jumped back, taking defensive measures as hot air burst out from the increasingly cracked earth. Their brows creased with worry as the earth’s cracks grew worse alongside the progressively louder rumblings.
Eventually, the crater’s ground could no longer resist the pressure.
BOOM!
Syèl and Kashi’s mouth went agape with shock as the ground splintered into several rocks that were then shot upward. Surprisingly, however, rather than lava, a dense, blue liquid spewed into the air and then began filling the crater. The duo instantly recognized the blue substance as liquified mana when the crater’s mana density suddenly skyrocketed.
Kashi did not know why, but he suddenly felt an urge to dive into the mana pool. It seemed to be a desire from the depth of his soul. Even Yggdrasil, within his inner world, rustled violently as if worried that the daeben would pass this up. Kashi, however, viewed the mana pool with a cautious gaze, choosing not to venture anywhere near it.
Luckily, Syèl promptly provided an apt description as he shouted, “Hey! Kashi! Check this out! The walls are glowing!”
Kashi shook his head, and then looked in the direction Syèl pointed at. Sure enough, the walls were indeed glowing red hot. But that was not all. As if buoyed by the glow, the canyon’s temperature suddenly skyrocketed. Kashi and Syèl, who both had incredible resistance to fire, and in turn, heat, sweated but remained fine until their clothes suddenly combusted into flames.
“What the fuck!?” Syèl shouted as he summoned a giant drop of water and then dropped it on them.
Kashi, drenched in water, glared at the grinning halben. “A little warning next time!”
“Sorry,” Syèl half-heartedly apologized in a sing-song voice. “It was an emergency.”
Kashi let out an exasperated sigh, choosing not to engage Syèl in a spat. Instead, he walked over to the wall with eager eyes. “Could it be?” The daeben wondered as he reached out to break off a piece of the mountain—“AAH!”
Kashi yelled in shock and surprise as he quickly retracted his hand. He stared at the heavy burn wound, stunned by the fact that something hot enough to injure him occurred naturally.
“Did no one ever tell you not to touch a hot stove?” Syèl remarked with a sarcastic chuckle. “What did you expect?”
Kashi snorted, but his eyes betrayed his embarrassment and anger, which he promptly took out on the mountain. Kashi dragonified his arm and then punched the mountain with everything he had.
Surprisingly, the daeben’s full-powered punch, which could form small craters, only managed to break off a few small rocks off the mountain wall. However, this only served to further the daeben’s suspicion.
Kashi grabbed a rock from the ground and then carefully examined it.
Syèl, bored out of his mind, asked, “Looking for something?”
“I think this might be a firestone,” answered Kashi. When he saw Syèl’s questioning gaze, he further explained, “In King’s Journey , there were a few special stones that occurred in areas dense with mana—the most common of which are the mana stones we are all familiar with. But there were a few other special, more rare types. Our Rinks, for example, were crafted from ‘Sound Stones,’ which naturally stored any incoming sound. ‘Fire Stones’ work in a similar fashion. They naturally convert mana absorbed to heat. Quite a few legendary weapons had these installed.”
“Hooo,” remarked Syèl with a bored gaze. “Sounds interesting…”
Kashi laughed and shook his head. “I don’t blame you for not seeing the potential in having a mountain full of these stones.”
Syel shrugged and then turned to look at the mana lake. “It’s not like we can touch them anyway.”
“Huh? Why not?”
Syèl jerked his chin toward the pool as he replied, “’ Cause I don’t think he’ll let us.”
Kashi’s brow rose as he turned around, questioning, “What…” His voice then trailed off as he spotted a massive head the size of a double-decker bus slowly rise from the mana lake. “…the hell?”
Both men raised their heads, shock in their eyes, as a gargantuan dragon slowly emerged from the lake. Its burning red scales complimented a pair of magnificent, regal, golden-brown eyes. The dragon snorted flames as it regarded the puny humes that had invaded its territory. But it turned its gaze away a moment later as if deeming them beneath its attention.
The dragon, instead, unfurled its wings, releasing a terrible gust of wind that blew off the remaining mana from its scales. Unfortunately, that casual brush nearly sent Kashi and Syèl flying to the wall. Luckily, both men anticipated something like that happening and duly drove their feet into the ground, stabilizing themselves.
The dragon, after freeing itself of the last dredges of mana, stretched its neck to the heavens and then let out a colossal, deafening roar. Syèl and Kashi covered their ears, but their efforts proved futile as the debilitating cry caused blood to spill from their ears.
“Fuck!” Syèl, consumed by rage, roared, “Are you showing off!?”
The dragon suddenly paused and then turned to regard the humes once more. Its golden brown eyes blinked as if surprised to see the duo were real. After a few brief seconds, a deep, gravelly voice boomed, “…humes? In my home? You made it past the Death Zone?”
“Death Zone?” Syèl questioned with a sneer. “What kind of welcome is that!?”
The dragon’s eyes gleamed with curiosity and a bit of humor. “Welcome? Did you perhaps miss the ‘Death’ in ‘Death Zone’? You should not be here.”
“Yeah, well, we are now,” argued Syèl, and then added with a frown. “By the way, do you mind lowering your head a little. This posture is killing my neck.”
“Keep this up, and your neck won’t be the only thing getting killed.”
Syèl’s eyes went wide with rage. “Are you threaten—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Kashi interrupted as he stepped between Syèl and the dragon. Glaring at Syèl, he whispered with a frustrated laugh, “Are you trying to get us killed?”
“What’re you talking about?” Syèl said as he glanced at the dragon. “We can take him.” He met Kashi’s gaze and then added with a weak smile, “Okay. Maybe we lose an arm and a leg in the process, but I think we can take him.”
Kashi rolled his eyes. “I like my limbs intact, thank you very much.” He then sighed and said, “Let’s try talking first.”
“Talk?” Syèl crossed his arms as a groan escaped his lips. “Ugh. Should have known you would choose the boring route. Fine, do what you want.”
“Thanks.” Kashi chuckled and then turned to look at the dragon. He adopted a respectful expression, right arm to his chest, as he bowed and then said, “Nornesh, I presume? I am Kashi of the daeben, and my friend is Syèl Rifatora. We’ve come to discuss a matter of great importance.”
“Importance?” Nornesh’s maw stretched in a cocky smirk as he regarded the daeben. “You humes vastly overestimate your matters. I have watched generations come and go. Men and women struggling every day for ‘important matters’ lost to the sands of time. What matter do you possibly have that could be of importance to me.”
“Razznik.”
Nornesh paused, his eyes going wide in shock. “Well, that changes things.” The old dragon laid on the ground, thankfully reducing his height so that Kashi didn’t have to strain his neck too much. With a thoughtful look in his eyes, he said, “Talk. I will decide your fate afterward.”
Kashi smiled and then said, “Razznik is most likely returning within a few weeks. He will be summoned by the Chaos Order if we do not prevent it. Normally, I would not ask for your help as I believe we should use our power to deal with our issues. But I have reason to believe the Chaos Orders’ Transcendents will interfere should we prove victorious. As such, we require the aid of all Transcendents to hold them off. A one-off favor, if you will. I will owe you one in the future.”
“HAHAHA!” Nornesh burst out in animated laughter. “Owe me? Me!? What possible worth is your favor? Do you think there is anything you can offer me that I cannot possess on my own?”
Kashi’s smile disappeared, his expression turning frigid and cold as he declared, “I do not think… I know.”
Nornesh’s gaze likewise turned frosty as he glared at the daeben. “You know? Choose your next words carefully as they might just be your last.”
Kashi, however, did not back down under the dragon’s heart-stopping glare. “No. You need to consider your next words.”
Syèl raised a brow as he stared at the daeben. “Uh… Kashi?”
Nornesh growled, “Are you threatening me?”
“I do not waste time with threats,” Kashi coldly retorted. “I am telling you that I have the one thing you want but can never have.”
“…Are you trying to piss him off?” Syèl asked, but neither party paid him any attention.
Nornesh issued a cold laugh, gaze hot and burning as he demanded, “Tell me, daeben. What do I want?”
“The same thing as every living being in this world,” replied Kashi as he spread out his arms. “Acceptance. Love… Family .” The daeben revealed a wide grin as he stated, “Divine Dragons are unique creatures. There can only be a handful in existence at a time. However, they cannot mate with any other species, including Elder Dragons and below. Thus, they are cursed to never bear children. Some say it was a measure by the gods to prevent extremely powerful species from destroying the ecosystem. The reason doesn’t matter.” Kashi’s gaze pierced Nornesh’s as he stated, “You do not have a family of your own, do you?”
Nornesh revealed a toothy grin as he stretched out his neck. “I wonder how I should end you. Burning? Maiming? No. This insolence deserves a bit of a… personal touch.” He reared his head back and then opened his mouth, revealing a deep chasm lined by razor-sharp teeth. “…I haven’t eaten a hume in such a long time. Perhaps this is a good a time as any to rekindle that particular craving.”
Contrary to Nornesh’s expectations, Kashi did not back off from this threat but instead walked up to him with a placid grin. “Do not get the wrong idea. I am not afraid of you. Worst-case scenario, you kill me. Big Whoop. So what? I, maybe lose my life, but you definitely lose any opportunity of avoiding a lonely existence. Divine Dragons are immortal by age, aren’t they? Eternity is a long time to spend all alone, don’t you think?”
Nornesh paused, several thoughts running through his mind as he examined the daeben’s confident expression. Indeed, he could not sense any fear or hesitation. What if Kashi was telling the truth? What if there was truly a way to have a companion to pass the years with? Someone Nornesh wouldn’t have to lose to the sands of time?
The proud dragon revealed a thoughtful gaze and then once more rested his head on the ground. He then looked at the daeben and said, “…I’m listening.”