Chapter 234 – Gray Impact

Gray Impact

Hikaru first instructed Paula to save Claude from certain death. After Mikhail arrived, they carried him inside lecture building C so he could be healed completely. Hikaru didn’t want to show Paula’s powers out in public.

While Claude’s wounds were healed, it would still take time for him to fully recover. Paula couldn’t return the blood he lost. Claude then fell asleep.

「So what are you doing here?」Hikaru asked Paula.

「Lavia-chan came to my place. She said you’d be fine, but the others might get injured.」

Lavia apparently went to the guards’ station to ask for help as well. She wanted to help Hikaru in a way that wouldn’t hinder him. Hikaru felt happy at her thoughtfulness.

Mikhail and the other succeeded in subduing the enemies, but some of his men suffered serious injuries. Paula provided them with first-aid treatment. That way, they would see her as simply a fairly skilled Healer.

Five of the eleven assailants were dead, and the rest were arrested.

「You can come out now, Drake.」

『Phew.』

Drake came out from under Hikaru’s coat. Paula and Mikhail moved to a different building to tend to the wounded. They moved Claude with the other injured as well as that would be more convenient. Luka went to be by his side, leaving only Hikaru and Drake outside.

「So what was bothering you?」

Hikaru returned to lecture building C. Joseph’s body was already taken away; only blood and pieces of his flesh remained. The moon sat high in the sky, illuminating the red stain on the pure-white snow.

Ray survived and was imprisoned along with the other assailants. The interrogation about the new weapon should begin once dawn broke.

『What do you think about those… tentacles?』

「I thought they were creepy.」

『I sensed something awful from those things. Like they were related to something evil.』

「Are you talking about the evil drakon?」

『Nuh-uh. Not that awful. But still, it’s not too far off.』

「I wish you’d be more specific. So what was that exactly?」

『Maybe they used some kind of method to boil down something pure evil and by feeding it to someone, they change form.』

The drakon wasn’t talking about cooking. A syringe lay on the snow. As Hikaru reached for it, Drake stopped him, saying the source of the transformation could be in it.

「Shouldn’t we examine it?」

『You shouldn’t carry it around. It’s dangerous.』

「I’m sure I’ll be fine as long as I don’t touch it with my bare hands—」

Everything went dark. Hikaru thought clouds might’ve covered the moon.

「What is that?!」

His Mana Detection that he left running detected something huge flying high above the sky. Slowly, it swirled around as it descended.

「Whoa, whoa, whoa…」

Closer and closer it came. The wind howled as the creature landed, crushing down trees on the courtyard and causing a shock wave. Snow on the ground prevented clouds of dust from rising. Suddenly, the whole place went quiet. The monster before him was as big as the earth dragon Hikaru fought before.

Somehow the thought of running away or hiding didn’t cross Hikaru’s mind, most likely because he didn’t feel any animosity from the creature—a gray colored drakon with red eyes.

《————Puny human from another world, and my comrade————》

Its voice was like pure sound pressure, assaulting his body. Hikaru’s coat fluttered. He couldn’t keep his eyes open. He couldn’t move as he listened to the voice. Even breathing was difficult. His heart raced.

The voice died down, and Hikaru glared at the drakon. It looked like Drake, except several times bigger. Its eyes were larger than Hikaru’s head and its body glowed under the moonlight.

《————Are you the one who used the evil being?————》

Once again, its voice reverberated throughout the place.

「Can you shut up for a minute?! How do you expect me to talk when you sound like that?!」

The drakon raised an eyebrow.

《————I do not care. Answer my question.————》

It put more force into its voice. Hikaru felt like his soul was leaving his body. When the sound quieted down, he was breathing heavily.

「I see. So that’s how you wanna play.」Hikaru was getting pissed.

『W-Wait, Hikaru!』Drake said.『You’re a Gray Noble Drakon, right?! Hikaru has nothing to do with the evil presence here!』he cut in, panicking.

《————A Young White Drakon. You must return to the drakons’ home. ————》

『I-I have my own freedom!』

《————Preposterous. A drakon that has not even fully-grown yet has no right to freedom.————

『Please listen, o’ great Gray Noble Drakon. Humans are interesting creatures. They make lots of delicious food. I want to learn about their culture and bring the knowledge with me back home! I’m sure the elders will—』

The Gray Noble Drakon didn’t seem the least bit interested as it turned its attention towards Hikaru.

《————I see. You are the one who deceived the Young White Drakon.————》

Hikaru was getting used to the immense pressure. He could now breathe and keep his heartbeat under control.

「Deceived, you say?」

Hikaru scoffed. If anything else, he had been the one paying for Drake’s food expenses. Sure, he helped with the Drakon Passage, but if Drake wanted to go home, he wouldn’t be against it. But right now, he didn’t feel like saying that to the Gray Noble Drakon. To Hikaru, this creature that came swooping down, destroyed the yard, and ignored his request to lower down its voice, was an enemy.

《————You are a Heaven’s Messenger, are you not? Yet you dare deceive a drakon. Your transgression will not go unpunished. I will personally hand down your retribution right here and now.————》

In an instant, more than ten magic circles—smaller than the one that formed when Lavia used her Flame Gospel—appeared around the creature.

『N-No, stop! Hikaru’s a good guy! I’m staying here out of my own will. Don’t kill Hikaru!』

Drake cried out, desperation in his voice. The Gray Noble Drakon didn’t pay him any heed. A wordless chant, and red rocks emerged from the magic circle.

《————Begone.————》

A metal pipe was pointed at the Gray Noble Drakon.

「As you wish, you will be gone.」

Hikaru pulled the trigger, and a giant fire materialized in the air, surging towards the Gray Noble Drakon.

The Gray Noble Drakon misjudged. Humans are humans. Drakons are drakons. It believed that the latter were higher beings that lived in a completely different world. For the long-lived Gray Noble Drakon, humans were nothing but insignificant creatures.

The Gray Noble Dragon had never interacted with a human like this before. But he believed humans could use their silver tongues to tempt drakons, especially younger ones.

As such, he deemed it necessary to end this human’s life immediately. Even if the Young White Drakon got caught in the crossfire, it would recover quickly. The young drakon should be returned to its home.

It was an extremely reasonable train of thought for a drakon. There was that much difference in power between drakons and humans, after all.

At least, that’s what it thought until the raging fire came rushing out of the peculiar metal pipe. The Gray Noble Drakon flinched. A spell of this level wouldn’t work on its scales that were impervious to Spirit magic. Yet, it flinched, and in that instant, let loose its spell. It felt ashamed for faltering even a moment.

The rocks it fired pierced the ground and destroyed buildings. As the deafening sound subsided, the clouds of dust settled. Red lumps of rock left buildings crumbling. A few bore through the earth in the distance.

I must kill that human now, it thought. It was desperate. But the human was gone along with the Young White Drakon.

Humans sure are foolish creatures.

The Gray Noble Drakon scoffed. The spell just now was a diversion. He must have thought that with his small size, he could hide easily.

The creature searched for signs of life nearby. It had a unique ability to expand its mana and detect its target like a sonar.

How…

But it couldn’t find the human anywhere. It could sense humans coming out from the distant buildings, but the one he was looking for was not among them. What’s more, the Young White Drakon was also gone. It couldn’t mistake the presence of a fellow drakon.

The drakon’s red eyes glowed as it scanned its surroundings carefully.

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