Chapter 72
Chapter 72
“What? Veno? Never mind that! Hurry and escape, Cohgray!”
Celes looked confused when she saw Virage and I exchange glances.
Oh, she probably can’t hear Veno.
‘‘tis quite strenuous make myself heard by elves, but I have so much to say to him.’
“Hah, hahahahahahaha! I did not expect to guess correctly. You look so differently than back then; I could not recognize you.”
Veno’s enemy from a time long past stood there staring and arrogantly laughing.
‘I could but say the same myself. I expected not to see thee alive. We have both aged so much that we could not recognize each other.’
Veno speaks calmly, just barely holding back his murderous intent.
“Still... I did not foresee his phantom appear holding the same sword as he did years ago...”
‘Perhaps it would be best for thee to give up. Thine secret weapon would easily be slaughtered by the sacred sword. ‘tis unmistakable the sword glows for it is ready to punish thee for thine sins!’
So, what? Was I supposed to smack them with the sword?
Not that it’s unwieldy or anything, but I wasn’t confident with the Karma Blaze since I’ve never used it before.
The Bio Corpse Hydra approached us to attack with his miasma breath, but I zipped off to avoid getting hit by it.
I felt super quick on my feet, almost as if I had wings.
“D-Did he just teleport?!”
The dragonslayers shouted out in astonishment.
However, not only was the hydra able to, even Virage kept up with me.
“Hmpf. You think you can turn this around simply with a hero’s sword? My monster is strong enough to even defeat the monster general of yore. You are sorely mistaken to think you could be victorious with that sword.”
Virage, blinded by his greed and grudge, raised his hand.
“This is all his fault! Despite the world tree originally belonging to us elves, this only happened because he blabbered on about sharing the tree’s graces! If only he didn’t get in my way, none of this would have happened! The man who wielded that sword is all to blame!”
‘Spoken truly like a sore loser who lost all his might. Thou art truly petty, always shifting the blame onto others.’
“You dare ridicule me?!”
‘Ridicule thee? I merely speak of the truth. But for trampling over our dreams... do not think thou shall die a good death!’
“Haha... you talk big for someone trapped in the body of a frail human being. Now, hurry and die already!”
With a smile on his face, Virage was filled with a sense of false confidence as he ordered the monster to attack us. However, right as he did so, Karma Blaze began to shine again... so did I as I floated up into the air.
What in the hell...?
“Ah...”
“Muu.”
Arleaf and Muu clasped their hands together as if they were praying to me.
Finally, Karma Blaze left my hand and just as soon as I thought it would fly around...—
A great flash of light burst out from my chest, disorienting me for a moment.
—Veno Yveval... slaughter the culprit who committed this unforgivable sin.
A rageful voice—neither the voice of Veno, me, nor the man who dreamt of reclamation—resonated with a command.
The next thing I knew... my body had disappeared. I was viewing the world through Veno’s eyes.
Veno was not the blackish, purplish dragon I knew, but rather a divine white dragon clad in light.
“Aye... this is... longevity?”
‘What the hell is happening? Am I just spectating?’
I was able to move my body, but Veno’s didn’t move at all.
And if I was watching from Veno’s point of view, where did I go?
Veno stretched open his wings, clenched and unclenched his claws, and gave his body a quick check-over.
‘Aye... thou art now in the space where I had been trapped.’
Hey, don’t just speak to me with telepathy. I almost thought I went by to my world in this state.
‘Hmm... if thou were to suddenly leave, I would be panicking too. In any case, I shall do what I am supposed to do. It seems like Karma Blaze has a lot of both Mana and frustration pent up inside it.’
Veno speaks to me as he looks on over to Virage.
“What thinkest thou, Virage? Thine magics seems to be working against thee.”
“Impossible!”
“However, ‘tis quite humorous. To have the sword activate like this... means that thou art as evil as the monster general. But perhaps that is why thou hadst engaged in petty tricks to prevent more heroes? Is that why thou hadst also worn such an odd headdress?”
Sounds about right. Virage most likely changed his name, shirked all responsibility, and lived as a fugitive as well.
“This sacred sword that contains the hopes of the people is granting me—a monster—its power. It spells ill omens for thee. But I shall let the sword and the dragonslayers pass their judgement.”
Celes’ jaw dropped.
“C-Cohgray, you really are a dragon... but this changes nothing. I have already made up my mind.”
“If you think about it, that dragon is only defending itself... it hasn’t even killed any innocents. You could say it was even being nice...”
The dragonslayer muttered out as he looked down at his fallen brethren.
“... we’d best hurry and save the townsfolk. Don’t want any more casualties than this...”
‘I had been so restricted with my energy that I was not able to chant many of the spells I had wanted to try. With so much Mana, I could cast any magic I want now.’
Hey. What, did you think I was going to ignore what you just said?
‘Oh, whatever! I only have this one chance! What great timing too! I have been chosen by the sacred sword... I am the world’s only dragon hero!’
Will you stop acting like a child, Veno?! What the hell is a dragon hero anyway?!
“Activate Holy Magic... Ancient Language Interpretation.”
Never have I been bombarded with more visual information... ugh. Just looking at the geometric models and formulas that popped up made my head hurt.
“Your attention please, everyone... I cast the mass curing and purifying defensive barrier... Yggdrasil!”
As Veno activates his spell, our surroundings were smothered by a green light. A giant tree rose from the ground by magic and then its roots spread over the whole town of Lif’el.
The roots passed through walls and buildings, guarding the whole town.
Except for Virage and his Bio Corpse Hydra of course.
The hydra began to claw at the roots that extended from Veno’s magic tree, but the tree didn’t budge one bit.
“Whoa... I feel... so much better. The miasma is getting purified!”
“Ugh...”
The fallen dragonslayers began to rise from the ground.
“Even the seriously wounded are recovering... with this much range, maybe even the dead will be...”
“Oh, that miraculous magic here... is the exact one from the legends...!”
The dragonslayers clasped their hands together in prayer.
Lif’el was just plagued with miasma, but through Veno, the town was being purified right before my eyes. Lif’el could even be called holy ground.
“Hmm... let me sustain that healing barrier... and cast another spell.”
‘Oh, I wanted to try this one out too!’
Aw, geez. I can hear exactly how he feels. But to think that Veno was also able to hear me so clearly...
‘Oh, keep quiet. I cannot hold myself back any longer.’
“And for the target...”
“Wha—”
Veno carved a cross into Virage.
Not only was it visible to me, but everyone else could too, judging by their shocked expression.
“Now... face thine punishment for ruining the man’s dream and for causing the families of countless dragonslayers to suffer. I have avoided killing people to the best of my ability... however, you shall receive no such mercy.”
Veno started casting again.
The geometrical patterns of many magic circles surrounded them and began to form a powerful spell.
“Five minutes. I shall grant ye all five minutes’ time to escape. After that, anyone left in a 20-meter radius of the marked man, Virage, shall be punished along with him!”
How thoughtful of you.