Book Eater

Chapter 149: Along with the Dragon (2)

The sea dragon, the so-called blue dragon, was one of the biggest among the dragon species. Its streamlined body was more than fifty meters long, with a horned head and a powerful tail. Most adult dragons topped out at forty meters in length, and weren’t nearly as thick either. Even the red clan, famed for their strength, avoided facing blue dragons in the sea.

The blue dragons had given up their wings when they chose the sea. Their fins and tails were built to master the currents, and their claws to rend even the largest opponents. Aquilo’s form was so specialized for the sea that she was almost unparalleled underwater. Every time the smoothly curved tail moved through the water, she traveled a few hundred meters and emitted an intense shock wave.

[I caught up.]

Aquilo smiled cruelly as she caught sight of Pride. She had sensed it on land, but she couldn’t help but feel something ominous from the creature. It had reconstructed itself to be more efficient underwater, with the feet of a mollusk and the wide tail of a squid.

Aquilo observed it for a moment.

[Hrmm, should I just check it after I kill it?]

Her confidence came from over a thousand years of hunting. She had never once missed a kill. Yet this insignificant thing dared to come unauthorized into her domain? Unforgivable. As anger bubbled in her body, she drew the water around her into her mouth.

This was Aqua Breath.

Highly pressurized water was just as sharp as a sword, and could even slice through ore. Theo had barely survived just one drop of water, but this was when Aquilo was serious.

Chut―――!

A thin, solid line shot out from Aquilo’s mouth. The narrower the output, the stronger the pressure. Even a body made of adamantium wouldn’t have survived that Aqua Breath, and it turned Pride’s bizarre body into a sophisticated puzzle piece. Blood and torn flesh floated motionlessly in the water, however, Aquilo sensed that Pride was still alive.

She muttered

[... A slime?]

- You are foolish, but you noticed quickly.

Pride’s voice rumbled, confirming her quick deduction.

A king slime was an S rank slime that occupied the southern swamps, and was almost invulnerable to conventional attacks. However, the slime’s weakness was that it had a nucleus that was very vulnerable to attack. In this case, Aquilo would have to obliterate Pride’s entire body all at once to destroy him. However, Aqua Breath’s strength lay in its penetrative and cutting ability, not destructive ability.

- Now, my turn.

Pride declared as it restored its body in an instant.

Kraken’s tentacles.

Before Aquilo could react, Pride’s body expanded as it transformed into another form. Eight thick arms lashed outward, armed with suckers that left trails of deadly poison in the water. It was the nightmare of seafarers, and the second disaster of the sea, alongside the sea serpent.

[Kraken!?]

The eight arms latched onto Aquilo’s body, swiftly wrapping itself around her. Aquilo could feel that this was no ordinary transformation, this creature truly had the strength and characteristic poison of a kraken. She might be the strongest creature in the sea, but she wasn’t invincible. A kraken’s poison could melt her scales, and a megalodon’s bite could penetrate her hide.

At the same time, she had never lost to either one.

Jijijik! Jijijik!

The tentacles around Aquilo’s body swelled as they tried to tear her body apart. However, the tentacles were unable to cope with the power of a sea dragon, so the mollusk’s flexible body started to rupture.

Chwaaack!

Aquilo tore apart the kraken’s arms as the sea began to roil. The dark water became so brightly lit that all the fish fled desperately.

[... Okay, this is finally fun.]

Pride wasn’t an easy opponent, so she would have to take it seriously. The water around her began to flow faster as the currents created a sea wall to trap the combatants. The sea dragons were masters of the seas, and she wasn’t about to let her prey run away. Yet, despite losing its escape route tightly, Pride scoffed.

- This will be the last game of your life.

Aquilo ignored it. An enemy was an object to be defeated, not a conversation partner, and the battle had begun. As Aquilo sprang forward, Pride bared its new fangs, the teeth of a megalodon.

As they clashed, a huge shockwave erupted. A tsunami rose high into the air as one of the rulers of the sea started to seriously battle a grimoire of the Seven Sins.

***

Kururung!

Despite there being not a single drop of rain, thunder rumbled in the air. Waves crashed violently onto the harbor, as the battle’s vibrations traveled across the sea. Theo, who was floating above the sea, measured the amplitude and direction of the shock waves and immediately calculated the location of the epicenter.

“Over there.”

Aquilo and Pride were on the bottom of the sea approximately three kilometers from the coast. Theo didn’t know who held the upper hand, but it wasn’t a battle he couldn’t intervene in. One side was an adult dragon whom even Veronica would struggle with, while the other was a Seven Sins grimoire with the 5th seal released. It was a battlefield of masters.

- Are you really going??

Gluttony asked Theo.

- Stop now, User. Pride is an emotional being, but it is one of the Seven Sins grimoires. It won’t slaughter you for unnecessary things.

“Can you be sure of that?”

- ... No.

Theo shrugged at the uncertain answer. “That’s why. And even if I survive here, is there any guarantee I won’t meet it again? If it becomes even more powerful than now, the world tree won’t be able to stop it... The safety of Ellenoa and Elvenheim will be at stake.”

- ......

“So I have to end it here. If it’s even stronger next time, it won’t be something that people of this era can handle.”

Gluttony remained silent. The user’s survival was always of the highest priority, but it realized that Theo’s words made sense. It was a gamble to fight here, but it would be checkmate if they fought again. There was a good chance Pride would reach the 6th stage if it consumed the sea dragon. Then, even if the continent formed an alliance, they would be wiped out in a week.

Seems Gluttony is easily convinced by the bigger picture argument...

Theo, who convinced Gluttony with just a few words, stared calmly into the sea.

Aquilo’s tail would occasionally breach the surface, and the sea was dyed red. The aftermath of the two monsters’ fight beneath the surface of the water was creating problems even three kilometers away.

Theo grabbed his pounding heart, which felt like it would burst, and looked down at his left hand.

“... Is it truly possible?” He hated how weak his voice sounded, but Theo couldn’t help it.

He had spent the last three days working out countermeasures for battling a dragon, but he hadn’t had a chance to practice. Modern magic had no solutions, so he had to pin his hope on ancient magic, which he had never attempted before.

At that moment, someone’s voice reached his ears.

“Hey, Young Master! It isn’t fun if you fly alone!”

Theo already knew who it was without looking back. No, he was afraid of what his expression would be like.

So, he kept his eyes on the roiling sea as he called out, “What are you doing here, Randolph? You can really die!”

“Didn\'t I tell you? It doesn’t matter!”

Randolph’s level meant he could clearly see the struggle of the monster in the sea and the hell-like landscape they were now involved in. Yet Randolph still declared that they would go together. That loyal goodwill was such a heavy burden.

Theo enchanted Randolph’s shoes and spoke in a testy voice, “Now you can even run around on the water. Of course, the surface will be different, but you can easily compensate for that.”

Randolph took one cautious step onto the water, and when he didn’t sink, hopped from one foot to the other in delight.

“Oh, this is good!”

He could walk on water if he used aura, but this would save energy and concentration. As expected of a master level aura user, Randolph only took a moment to adapt to walking on water. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t that different from his usual form.

However, there was no more time for the two of them to talk.

Theo’s eyes widened at the sudden surge of magic power, “This...!”

“Be careful, Young Master!”

Jjejejeok...! Jjejejeok...!

An icy chill descended on the world, and the seas froze beneath them. It was reminiscent of the 7th Circle spell, Blizzard. Theo and Randolph stood next to each other as they fought to resist the icy temperature. A normal person’s blood would have frozen in their body.

The sudden chill meant his eyelashes were frozen, but Theo easily removed the ice from his eyelashes and opened his eyes.

“The sea...!”

The waves were frozen in mid air. It was all ice. The famous frigid landscape of the north was spread out before them. From the coast to the horizon, the whole area was frozen white. High flying seagulls plummeted to the ground, so deeply frozen that they shattered into red and white shards on impact.

As for the one who created this landscape...

Ku kwa kwang!

A blue-scaled dragon broke through the thick ice like it was paper. However, when she landed, she was far from unscathed. Some scales had been corroded from poison, and some had been torn by teeth. Blood flowed freely from the wounds that seemingly refused to heal.

Who could push Aquilo so far in the sea? Pride’s grotesque body broke through the glacier across from her as if to answer that question.

“Let’s go!”

If Aquilo collapsed, they were dead. Pride wasn’t an opponent that Theo and Randolph could face alone. Theo hurtled through the sky, while Randolph sprinted across the glacier. Three kilometers wasn’t far for two people of their caliber when they were going all out, but a battle between monsters could be decided in moments.

Fortunately, Aquilo still resisted violently.

Kwaang!

Pride doubled over as Aquilo’s long tail sent him flying into a frozen wave. But it sprang out of the glacier, lunging at her with outsized claws. It was probably a trait it had picked up from some apex creature. As Theo moved closer, he calculated the distance and prepared the magic which would be most effective.

However, there was still a big gap between them.

[Kuack, this chimera bastard is trying to intimidate...!]

As Aquilo prepared another breath attack, Pride saw an opportunity and its claws flashed. Poison oozed from its claws. It was capable of melting a dragon’s scales and muscles, and Aquilo couldn’t even guess its origin. If this poison hit her heart, brain, or spine, it would be a wound that could endanger her life.

Aquilo, who sensed her defeat, closed her eyes.

Kurururung!

Out of nowhere, lightning fell on Pride like a heavenly calamity. It was the 6th Circle lightning magic, Thunderbolt! Theo had used Memorize to create seven Thunderbolts, so it was inevitable for even a master to suffer serious injuries. The seven thunderbolts struck the unprepared Pride, momentarily paralyzing its nervous system.

A red cloak fluttered down to land in front of Aquilo.

“You’ll probably tell me not to interrupt,” the magician, who had inherited one of the Seven Sins, spoke as he prepared for battle. “But Aquilo, I have a previous appointment with this creature.”