Chapter 308 : Chapter 308
Chapter 308. The Descent of Leviathan (1)
“Professor, that thing is…?”
Shartea staggered as she looked up into the sky.
Despite taking the full force of her unique magic head-on, Estina regained her senses almost immediately.
In a completely different form from before.
“Something unbelievable is happening.”
Professor Lillian, who was supporting Shartea, fixed her gaze on the ancient lifeform.
-Grrrrr….
It was, without question, a terrifying creature.
In the beginning, there was the Supreme Deity.
The Supreme Deity created the first life.
The strongest lifeform in the world.
The dragon.
A creature that breathed fire, possessed skin as hard as steel, had wings that could soar through the sky, sharp claws, and majestic wisdom.
The being that first taught magic to humankind.
Its power was said to rival that of a god.
Yet now, it was a creature that existed only in myth.
A chill ran through Lillian’s body as she stared at the magical beast before her.
Every hair on her body stood on end.
If that truly was a dragon…
Could they win by fighting it?
Her instincts were screaming when—
-BEEP!
A flying golem zipped over and projected an image in front of her.
The face reflected there was Cromwell’s.
“Headmaster?”
“Professor Lillian. I know you must be overwhelmed, so I will be brief.”
Cromwell spoke rapidly, as if he had already grasped the situation through the flying golem.
-Undead are appearing throughout the academy. The other professors are holding them back, but it is not easy. We need someone to buy time while the spectators evacuate.
Professor Lillian immediately understood what Cromwell was implying.
“Am I the only professor here right now?”
“Yes.”
This festival had drawn more spectators than any in the academy’s history.
Even if every professor mobilized, protecting all of them perfectly would be difficult.
Which meant no reinforcements could arrive here in time.
-You may have to risk your life.
“…Can I buy time alone?”
-“Of course.”
Lillian’s eyes gleamed.
Lillian Merchent.
Her epithet was the Pink-Haired Battle Maniac.
She was a mage who loved magical combat more than anything.
Stories of how she had once fought every enrolled student at the academy one-on-one during her school days were still passed down like legends.
She never feared battle.
And now, before her, stood the strongest creature in existence.
A being she had thought she would never fight even if she lived to die of old age.
The very pinnacle of magic.
Her blood boiled.
The fighting spirit blazing in Lillian’s eyes intensified.
“Professor, I will help as well.”
Shartea spoke from beside her.
But Lillian had no intention of dragging a student into this battle.
“No. Student Shartea, go evacuate with the others.”
No matter how harshly she trained her students, Lillian was a professor.
This was not a burden for students to bear.
“From here on, this is my fight!”
Leaving Shartea behind, Professor Lillian mounted her broom and soared into the air.
***
The being once known as Estina opened its eyes.
‘At last, I have obtained a body.’
The moment Estina’s body was torn apart, Leviathan’s consciousness devoured it.
There was some confusion at first, but he quickly seized control.
‘But it is still insufficient.’
It was all because of that damned Key of Seal.
His soul, split into six fragments, was incomplete.
Even so, thanks to Kier offering the Black Order executives as sacrifices, he had regained this much power.
Under normal circumstances, he would not have been able to emerge into the world at all.
Flash!
New souls flew toward him.
Fallen souls.
Leviathan joyfully consumed every sacrifice without leaving a single one behind, infusing power all the way to his fingertips.
-Grrrr….
The first thing he did after acquiring a human body was to change.
CRACK!
He had to discard the frail human form and be reborn into something stronger.
Stronger even than a magical beast.
The strongest magical beast in the world.
Only then could he reclaim the Middle Realm.
‘I will stand at the pinnacle of all life!’
The Primordial Origin he chose!
At last, Leviathan became a dragon and opened his mouth.
With nothing more than his breath, the air ignited.
Heat poured from the dragon’s jaws, hot enough to melt buildings.
KRAAAASH!
“Dragon Breath?”
“That is impossible! It is really a dragon?!”
The people who saw the dragon were seized by terror.
Leviathan delighted in it.
A long-forgotten sensation was returning.
The sight of humans being trampled beneath a mere gesture of his hand.
Their screams and wails were vivid.
It was the sensation he had missed so dearly.
‘Yes, this is it!’
More blood, more life, more fear!
Just as Leviathan spread his wings to crush the humans—
“Pierce.”
With the incantation, something massive came flying toward him.
THUD!
It was a spear of stone.
The still-forming blood membrane was pierced, and violet blood sprayed out.
SPLASH!
Leviathan spotted the pink-haired human who had appeared fearlessly before him on a broom.
It was Lillian, the academy’s Combat Magic professor.
“Creatures without will.”
Lillian fixed her gaze on the dragon and prepared her next attack.
She poured magic power into her staff.
The ground began to tremble.
RUMBLE.
Stones, garden bricks, flowerpots, ropes, even massive statues rose into the air.
“Come, and move according to my will.”
The moment Lillian finished her chant, all the floating objects plunged toward the dragon at once.
BANG!
CRASH!
A relentless barrage of debris.
Most of it could not inflict even a scratch on the dragon, but it was undeniably annoying.
Laughing with clear enjoyment, Lillian shouted,
“Even dragons feel pain when they get hit, do they not?”
I should kill that one first.
Leviathan glared at Lillian as she darted through the air on her broom and spread his wings.
-What…?
That was when Leviathan sensed something was wrong.
‘Heavy?’
His wings felt strangely heavy.
Only then did Leviathan realize what that pesky mage had done.
The debris Lillian had summoned was clinging all over his wings.
-Grrrr…!
Lillian smiled as she saw the dragon open its mouth toward her.
She had succeeded in drawing its attention.
Her first objective was to buy time while the people evacuated.
She had to delay him before the dragon could use proper magic.
Hisssss.
Dense demonic energy poured out from the dragon.
From the beginning, Lillian had guessed the dragon’s true nature.
That thing was something wicked borrowing Estina’s body.
If so, magic alone would have its limits.
But she could not retreat.
Lillian immediately began chanting her next spell.
“Earth, fire, wind, and water.”
CRASH!
FWOOSH!
WHOOOSH!
SPLASH!
The four elements that formed the foundation of the world gathered around her.
“Professor…!”
Watching from a distance, Shartea realized Lillian’s intent and stiffened.
This was not Professor Lillian’s usual fighting style.
Professor Lillian normally focused solely on winning, by any means necessary.
But now she was deliberately using conspicuous magic, openly drawing attention.
As if to say, I am right here.
“…This will not do.”
She had to go back to the professor herself.
Just as Shartea clenched her teeth and turned—
“Thea.”
A deep, steady voice stopped her in her tracks.
Shartea froze in surprise.
“Grandfather…?”
It was unmistakably her maternal grandfather’s voice.
A man who should have been guarding the borders at this very moment.
She turned around in disbelief.
“Yes. This old man has come.”
The Empire’s strongest swordsman.
Alexius Kudente opened his arms toward his granddaughter.
Shartea’s pupils trembled.
***
“I am here too, you know.”
Arteo muttered sulkily.
Watching his sister cling to their grandfather in relief stirred an inexplicable sense of resentment.
Does she not see her older brother standing right here?
At that moment, Radel spoke beside him.
“Instead of being jealous, why not go and hug her together?”
“Jealous? Do you think I should squeeze in there like that? That would be disgusting.”
“They look quite affectionate.”
“I cannot have a conversation with you!”
Arteo took a step away from Radel and scolded him with a look of utter disgust.
“More importantly, when is that ‘friend’ of yours arriving? You said we could not face the dragon without them.”
“They should be almost here.”
Even in this dire situation, Radel remained calm.
It was also Radel who had stopped Alexius and Arteo from charging straight at the dragon.
Radel turned to Gillian beside him.
“If we find and eliminate Kier now, is there any chance Leviathan will return?”
“Impossible. He has already descended. Destroying the summoned body is the best option, but unfortunately, Leviathan’s vessel is a dragon….”
Killing a demon summoned into a human body was simple.
Kill the human, and the demon would be forced back to the Demon World.
But even seasoned Inquisitors could not take a human life.
That was why the underground prison of the Marcellent Grand Temple overflowed with heretics.
‘Now it is far more difficult.’
Estina’s body, possessed by Leviathan, had become a dragon.
Incomplete or not, a dragon was still a dragon.
Only a dragon could kill a dragon.
Radel looked toward Professor Lillian, who was unleashing magic on the stage.
No matter how exceptional she was, her opponent was the strongest lifeform shaped by a god.
-Grrrrk!
Leviathan’s pupils narrowed.
His eyes were reading the flow of mana.
Amid the barrage of magic, Leviathan began to clearly distinguish Lillian’s magic power.
‘So this is magic power.’
KRAAAASH!
“Fire!”
A rain of flames.
Waves of force flowed from her voice as scattered mana gathered again.
‘And that is an incantation.’
It was not difficult.
Magic of the Middle Realm, unfamiliar to him as a demon, felt natural now that he was a dragon.
‘Easy.’
Like breathing.
Ecstasy surged through Leviathan.
It was a power entirely different from the curses they had used.
Leviathan filled his voice with mana and spoke.
-Spread.
HUM.
A dragon’s incantation.
The air trembled as all mana bowed to his voice.
Sound itself became magic, tearing through the air in an instant.
KRAAASH!
“No!”
The shockwave spreading from the dragon sent Professor Lillian’s broom flying away.
“Thea, Grandfather!”
Arteo moved instantly, stepping in front of them.
Radel hurriedly swung his staff.
“Block!”
A defensive spell unfolded, forming a translucent sphere around Radel and Gillian.
But it was obvious it would not last long.
CRACK!
Under the dragon’s overwhelming magic power, the barrier began to erode.
Radel closed his eyes and drew out every last bit of mana he had.
“Urgh!”
That was when—
-KIEEEEK!
A shrill cry echoed from high in the sky.
Something tore through the crushing magic power and plummeted downward.
-KIEEEEK!
The sound of beating wings.
Then the sound of something touching the ground.
Was it his imagination?
For an instant, Radel felt the air grow lighter.
A cold voice followed.
“To dare summon me all the way here… you are prepared for the consequences, yes?”
It was Leon Silvert Cretian, bearer of the Dragon’s Blessing.