Chapter 21: Helion Core [6]
"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Legion’s voice bounced off every wall in the chamber. Leon was already pointing his sword at the dragon like Alden might somehow not be aware of it.
"Do you realize what you’re asking us to do? We can barely wound the thing. And you want it alive?"
"I know, I know." Alden waved both hands. "Just trust me."
"Trust you?" Leon’s frown deepened.
"All I need—" Alden pointed at the dragon, "is my hand on it for a few seconds. I’ll handle the rest."
Silence.
Leon turned slowly toward Legion.
"...He’s lost his mind."
Legion nodded without hesitation. "Complete agreement."
Seris said nothing. Her crimson eyes had settled on Alden like someone who has just spotted something they want to understand better.
’Touch the dragon.’ She turned the idea over. ’He’s not bluffing. So what exactly are you hiding in that head of yours?’ The corner of her lips curved.
’I suppose I’ll just enjoy watching the fun.’
She lifted her scythe off her shoulder and let it dissolve into black particles with a small, elegant motion.
"I suppose that’s enough excitement for one evening." She stretched her arms above her head. "My mana has run dry. I’ll be resting. You three can continue."
Leon stared at her.
"...You’re kidding. The strongest person here steps out now?"
Legion looked equally speechless. "Vice-President, the timing on this is—"
"What can I do?" Seris rolled her shoulder gracefully. "I’ve been running since the attack began. Clearing entire sectors, dozens of beasts, dozens of students." A small shrug. "Even I get tired."
Alden looked at her.
She noticed immediately. Their eyes met. Her smile brightened by a fraction.
"Oh? Did you want to say something, Alden?"
’Not a single word of that was true,’ he thought flatly. ’There’s no world in which she’s out of mana. She saw something that caught her attention and now she’s settling in to watch.’ His eyebrow moved against his will. ’What an unbelievably troublesome woman.’ He said nothing.
The dragon’s throat glowed.
"Its breath!" Alden’s eyes snapped forward. "Move—"
ROOOAAARRR!
Fire erupted from the dragon’s jaws and swept the chamber floor in a single roaring wave. The heat hit them from across the room before the light did.
"Move!" Leon was already diving left.
Legion rolled right.
Alden flicked his wrist.
THWIP.
A white thread shot to the ceiling. He hauled himself up, swinging clear of the flames as they swept beneath him in a wall of orange.
He hung there for a second, looking down.
"...Safe."
Leon caught his footing and looked up at him. "...What kind of skill is that? Did you turn into a spider?"
"It’s complicated." Alden dropped back down behind a column. "I’ll explain later. Focus on not dying first."
A few meters back, Seris stood with her arms folded, watching.
’A spider’s thread.’ Her eyes followed the white strand still faintly visible in the air. ’That’s certainly not a skill.’
Legion charged again before anyone could plan anything.
"Going in!"
The dragon tracked him the moment he moved. Its chest expanded. The glow in its throat brightened into something serious.
’It’s lining up another breath.’ Alden didn’t wait.
THWIP. THWIP. THWIP.
Threads fired in rapid succession from his position, arcing across the chamber and wrapping around the dragon’s jaws in overlapping layers.
The dragon tried to open its mouth. The webs pulled taut and held.
[Thread Used — Spider Blueprint: +1%]
[Spider Blueprint: 48% → 49%]
"Got it!" Leon read the situation the instant the threads appeared. Golden mana erupted around him, shaping into chains that wrapped over the webbing and reinforced it, locking the dragon’s snout closed from the outside.
The dragon fought it. Every muscle in its neck straining. The glow in its throat burning brighter with nowhere to go, the pressure of it trapped inside its own body.
A muffled sound came from deep in its chest.
"MMMMRRRGH—"
Legion poured everything into his sword. The blade blazed so bright that Leon shielded his eyes and took a step back. The mana output was staggering, the air around Legion warping slightly with the concentration of it.
"I’m giving everything into this one." He kicked off. The stone under his feet cracked from the force of it.
He crossed the chamber in a single instant.
"HYAAAAH!"
The blade went up vertical at full force through the dragon’s chest and neck in one overwhelming arc that carved deep in it.
At the same moment, the trapped fire breath found no more room to stay contained.
BOOOOOOM.
The explosion came from inside the dragon. The shockwave rolled outward in every direction, knocking everyone back a step even with their footing planted.
The dragon’s massive body crashed onto the stone.
The impact shook the whole chamber.
Legion came down on one knee several meters away. His sword slipped from his fingers and rang against the floor.
He stayed like that for a moment, just breathing.
Leon walked over and held out a hand.
"You alright?"
Legion grabbed it and stood. "I’ll live." He exhaled slowly. "Mana’s gone though. Nothing left."
"Same." Leon let out a quiet, exhausted laugh. "That last chain nearly emptied everything."
Legion remembered something. He looked at Alden. "Didn’t you want us to keep it alive?"
"It’s fine." Alden was already walking toward the dragon. "Dead works too. I forgot. I just need to touch it, that’s enough."
Leon blinked.
"...I don’t understand this person."
"Neither do I," Legion said.
Alden climbed up onto the dragon’s enormous body, found a clear spot on its side, and pressed his palm flat against the scales.
’Finally.’ The excitement he’d been holding in since he first saw it. ’Let’s see what a dragon’s Blueprint gives me.’
Black smoke seeped outward from beneath the scales, curling upward and gathering around his hand.
Behind him, Leon picked his sword back up and turned toward the far end of the chamber.
The golden sphere was still there. The Core bearer motionless inside it.
"Come on." He started toward it. "We get them out, the disaster ends."
Legion fell into step beside him. "The sooner the better."
They crossed the chamber floor at a steady pace.
A few meters behind them, Seris stood with her arms loose at her sides and watched the whole picture.
Her expression shifted.
"Everyone." Her voice came out quiet. "Get back."
Leon stopped walking. "Huh? Vice-President, we’re almost there. We just have to get them—"
"Now." Her eyes hadn’t moved from the dragon. "Get away from it. Immediately."
Alden frowned down at her from where he was crouched on the dragon’s side.
’What did she see?’
A vibration traveled through the scales beneath his hand.
He looked down.
The scales moved and a sound came from deep in the dragon’s chest, low and continuous and getting louder.
Grrrrrrrrrr...
"...No way."
The remaining crimson eye opened.
It found Alden immediately.
Beneath him, the enormous body began to rise.
"...It’s still alive?"