Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Against the Heavens
I turned back time a little, to 10 minutes ago.
If you really thought about it, you could say that among bad situations, things were unfolding in the best possible way.
The wording was a bit subtle, but at the very least, Aiden couldn’t come up with any other interpretation.
‘……It’s faster than expected.’
At the very edge of the mountain’s outer perimeter, running along the cliff and scanning the shoreline, he reached that conclusion.
It went without saying, but no matter how violent a storm was, even one that brought torrential rain, the sea level wasn’t something that rose that easily.
And yet now, it was surging upward with such momentum that you could plainly see it with your own eyes.
He clearly knew that someone was artificially manipulating the surrounding environment, and from the look of it, he could also tell their temperament was extremely impatient.
But in a situation like this, the part he could view positively was…
“Over there, you bastard—!”
“I’ll use your intestines as a jump rope—!”
…Thanks to the royals getting this fired up, they were actually following along well, exactly as Aiden led them.
At this rate, I had to assume there was no immediate risk of getting crushed by that water level and drowning.
‘But…….’
No matter how much I dragged them toward higher ground, there was always a limit.
This situation was clearly anything but normal, so no one could say how far that thing would keep rising.
Soon, it wouldn’t be enough to just keep running. We would have to find an ‘artificial’ solution on our side as well.
We absolutely needed a means to counter something like that.
And then, as I was thinking that, a system window suddenly appeared before Aiden’s eyes.
‘Right on time.’
Honestly, by now I’d half expected something like this to pop up, so I was at the point where I could accept it calmly.
-Side Quest
▶ A major shift in the main scenario has been detected.
▶ You face an ‘anomaly.’
▶ Resolve the situation while keeping casualties as low as possible!
▶ Upon success, the Affection Level of target ‘???’ will greatly increase!
▶ Upon success, the Affection Level of target ‘???’ will greatly increase!
“…….”
…Well.
But if it was a type I’d never seen before, I had to look at it a bit more carefully.
‘Why are there two?’
Last time, there had also been an increase in Affection Level from an unknown target, but I definitely remembered there being only one then.
Having the exact same sentence appear twice looked almost like a simple error, but for a system window like this to produce an error was, in truth, an extremely unlikely possibility.
So, based on that.
The best guess was that the targets marked as ??? were different people.
“…….”
And starting from that point, if I ran my thoughts a little further…
The fact that those two had ‘joined forces’ to create this massive anomaly was also a possibility worth considering.
‘Two, huh…….’
Even one alone was enough to summon a dragon, yet there were two such beings, and both of them were interested in Aiden.
He had no idea what they hoped to gain by crowding around someone like him, but at least for now, he had no choice but to play along.
It wasn’t just my life on the line, but dozens—hundreds of lives.
‘Shall I indulge you just this once.’
From next time onward, there would be no leniency.
With that thought, Aiden let out a faint chuckle and dismissed the window. There was something else he needed to examine.
If such a prompt had appeared, then there was one more thing he had to reconsider.
Aiden still hadn’t claimed the reward he’d received for clearing the previous quest.
-System Log
▶ You have successfully handled the Sub Quest.
▶ A ‘miracle’-related reward has been granted.
▶ Speak with target ‘Morrigan’ to receive the reward.
▶ This reward is highly likely to affect your Affection Level with the target. Good luck!
This was it.
I had a strong feeling the clue to breaking through this situation would be found here.
So there was no real reason to delay it.
Scratching his chin, Aiden turned toward Morrigan.
He didn’t know how she was doing it, but she was floating in midair, chasing after him at almost the same speed as Reaver, whom I was riding.
Noel was running along further behind, and compared to that, Morrigan certainly looked more elegant—more impressive.
Was she using mana as a kind of booster? With qi or divine power, each had such distinct inherent traits that using them like that was nearly impossible.
Mana and miracles really were supernatural abilities that could be applied in countless ways……
Lost in that idle thought, Aiden finally opened his mouth.
“Morrigan.”
“……Yes?”
“How have you been lately?”
“…….”
Her face clearly said, What kind of nonsense is this man starting now?, but Aiden didn’t so much as twitch a brow, nor did he attempt to offer any further explanation. In doing so, he almost moved her.
‘……Well.’
It only said to converse, didn’t it?
It hadn’t specified that the conversation needed to be about anything in particular, so this should probably be enough……
“……Nothing particularly noteworthy—”
Morrigan let out a sigh and looked Aiden up and down.
“It seems, however, that something noteworthy has happened to you, Mr. Aiden.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can feel a peculiar…… ‘pulse’ within your body. Just what exactly happened to you?”
“……?”
What was she talking about now?
Aiden blinked in confusion and asked blankly,
“There was something like that inside my body?”
“To be honest, I wanted to point it out earlier, but there simply wasn’t any time to do so. My mouth was itching to say something.”
“…….”
…Well.
Since she was someone whose expression barely changed even in ordinary times, I had no way of knowing she’d been thinking that.
But it seemed she hadn’t spoken lightly. Morrigan suddenly moved closer to him and lowered her head.
“Would you wait a moment?”
Before long, she pressed her forehead firmly against his chest.
From behind, Noel narrowed her eyes and muttered something under her breath.
If this had been a gathering of refined gentlemen, it would have surely earned her disapproving looks and awkward coughs……
“…….”
As a chill ran down Aiden’s spine at that ominous murmur, a faint light pulsed from Morrigan’s body.
In sync with it, Aiden also sensed a corresponding pulse flowing through the energies within himself.
‘……This woman.’
She was clearly regulating the flow of some ‘supernatural ability’ inside Aiden’s body.
…At the very least, I wished she’d explained that much to Noel, Aiden thought idly.
After several minutes passed with her forehead resting there, Morrigan slowly pulled away.
“Do you feel anything now?”
The moment those words left her mouth, a window appeared before Aiden’s eyes.
-System Message
▶ You have acquired Trait: Dragon Speech (龍言).
-Skill Info
◆ Trait: Dragon Speech
A language imbued with the ‘power’ possessed by dragons. It is a primordial language that forms the foundation of manipulating mana and invoking miracles. The deeper the level of comprehension, the greater the miracles that can be produced.
▶ You can visually diagram the ‘flow of mana.’
‘……Oh?’
The instant he read the text, Aiden’s eyes widened.
Dragon Speech was essentially an exclusive trait of dragons — an ability akin to a language that only dragonkin could comprehend.
The sheer value of such a power was obvious. Not long ago, even a dragon Aiden had subdued was treated as having less than half its combat strength simply because it could not use miracles, despite its overwhelming physical might.
For a human to learn this… that was likely unprecedented.
If this was real, then…
This was something capable of completely overturning the present situation.
‘But it says the comprehension has to be deep…….’
There was no doubt it was an incredibly attractive ability, yet the prerequisite attached to actually using it was concerning.
Aiden closed his eyes and began calculating in his head.
If there were no teeth, he had survived by using his gums. That had always been the driving force behind his survival. To eliminate a penalty like this……
“…….”
Hm.
There was something he could try.
“……?”
Morrigan’s eyes widened as she sensed Aiden staring at her without a word.
Tilting her head as if to ask whether he had something to say, she watched as Aiden slowly rubbed his cheek and opened his mouth.
“Morrigan.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s merge.”
“…….”
As Morrigan’s mouth fell open, another mutter slipped from Noel’s lips behind them.
……This time, had it been a gathering of refined gentlemen, she would likely have been beaten and thrown out for the level of that remark.
▣
“……Tch.”
Julius clicked his tongue and looked around.
‘What the hell is this situation.’
As he watched the sea level swell to the point that it was practically filling a narrow basin with water, that thought crossed his mind.
Most of the royals present had lost their heads over Aiden Kellermain and were following him, but among the few who hadn’t, most still had enough composure to observe their surroundings.
From that perspective.
Watching the water rise at a pace fast enough to justify why that man was leading so many people toward ever higher ground made a chill crawl down his spine.
If it hadn’t been for that man, their response would have been delayed.
And a delayed response meant people would have died in droves.
‘But…….’
Continuing like this was nothing more than a stopgap measure. The situation showed no sign of stopping, enough to make that painfully clear.
There had to be some additional countermeasure. As Julius ground his teeth with that thought—
Fortunately, someone had clearly thought of that before he did.
Beneath a sky torn apart by rain, something shot up into the heavens.
Surely—
From the very position where Aiden Kellermain should have been running at the very front.
Flapping wings, drawing everyone’s gaze as it soared upward, the figure of that man—
‘……A dragon-man?’
The word surfaced naturally in his mind.
Half man, half dragon. A dragon in human form.
He had never actually seen a dragon-man, but if such a being existed, it would surely look exactly like that.
“Child, I beseech.”
And then, suddenly—
As that voice flowed from such a being,
A shiver ran straight down Julius’s spine.
“Child, I beseech, so I pray—answer.”
It could be seen as merely weaving together sentences, like a prayer, like an appeal to someone.
But anyone capable of handling supernatural power beyond a certain level would instinctively realize it.
“—From the zenith of all creation, unto the world.”
From the tip of that man’s lips,
A new ‘law’ was being forged.
Something that should never have been possible.
And yet, at the end of that man’s words, it was being woven into reality.
“I beseech.”
Then—
“Defy the heavens.”
Heaven and earth overturned.