Read Novel Full Chapter 548: The Demon That Carried Dawn on Its Back?
Chapter 548: The Demon That Carried Dawn on Its Back?
Kuro looked down with a concerned, yet still taciturn expression on his face - a mixture of shock and surprise as he gazed upon Lillian’s body.
"You... Lost your legs?"
"Only parts of it." Lillian chuckled.
Resting her back against a half-destroyed metal container, Lillian sat with the lower half of her legs completely burnt off. The trap that had ambushed her was incredibly fierce; if she hadn’t had mana at that time, she feared she wouldn’t be able to escape with more than what she had currently.
Unfortunately, she did lose the boots - the Kelp Striders - in the process.
Other than some burns, which she treated with some of her water, Lillian was partially alright - albeit now less than 20% of her overall mana.
The reason why she hadn’t drunk a health potion yet was that she feared that the regeneration might cause her stump to be sealed; well, more than it already was.
Kuro eyed her strangely, continuing to stare at her burnt stumps, "Doesn’t it hurt? Surely, the experience of having half of your legs burnt off must be excruciating painful."
Lillian laughed at that, not out of mockery, but one where she could only smile wryly to herself, "It hurts, A LOT... But me squirming because of the pain won’t help me any bit. Although, if you do have some pain-killing talismans, they would help."
Blinking at what she said, Kuro glanced at his severely injured arm. The talisman that had wrapped around his limb like bandages was actually a talisman to numb the pain.
"I do, I suppose you would like some, yes?" Kuro inquired, already knowing the answer as he summoned two talismans.
"Your injuries are incredibly severe; the cost of treatment would definitely not be little." He muttered, slapping the talismans on Lillian’s stumps, "Fortunately, as long as the academy still remains after this, they would be happy to cover the cost - seeing as you did help."
The Rabbit gave her thanks and gratitude for the pain-killing talismans, feeling the throbbing and burning pain subside slightly, before shaking her head.
"It’s fine, I have another way to heal my injuries."
"Oh?"
Lillian summoned a reflective glass Shard from her Mana Realm, which faintly displayed the skull of a wicked, crowned Wendigo.
Although it may not be morally ideal, by using the Jungle Lord as a source of vitality, Lillian would definitely be able to recover her legs.
As she was about to summon him, she watched as Kuro suddenly flashed his sword out from his sheath towards a speeding vine shooting from the ceiling.
The vine quickly evaded his swing before embedding itself into Lillian’s neck, causing her to blank for a moment.
"Eh-?"
In that instance, she felt the vine inject something into her bloodstream. And in a matter of seconds, she felt the burns covering her body disappear, followed by the recovery of her legs.
Lillian’s nose twitched as the vine emitted a floral scent.
’A flowery smell... Vine... Regeneration...’ Lillian pondered deeply before coming to a shocking revelation, ’Is this the work of [Rosarium Terminus]?!’
Rosarium Terminus was an ability (Trait) that, at the cost of a large portion of the user’s mana, would create an overflowing garden of flowers that provided regeneration on allies on par with someone with an Element of Healing.
It was rumoured that the allies that fought in it were effectively immortal unless either the garden was destroyed or the user was killed.
And the owner of this ability was none other than the Gardener of Roses.
’So the end of this outbreak is drawing near...’
After the two got back up to the underground market, they immediately set out to destroy the remaining Gravelborns that plagued the civilians.
Lillian leapt forward and slashed her sword at a Gravelborn, clashing against its sword. They had gotten stronger.
But even so, that wasn’t an issue for her.
While simultaneously clashing with the stone soldier, Lillian summoned a water harpoon behind it and sent it to destroy its core.
She repeated this action, receiving the kill messages and the gratitude of the people saved by her.
Crumble...
Having destroyed another Gravelborn, Lillian wiped the sweat off her brow, feeling her Mana Core reaching its limit.
But it wasn’t in vain.
Stepping forward, Lillian looked down at a frail, short, and rather familiar old man - the old man she had met back in the Kirisaya district that went under the name—
"It’s nice to see you again, Takuro."
—Takuro Takahashi.
Lillian smiled as she watched the blind elder look up at her with realisation spreading across his face; it really was like he could see her.
"Ah! Is that you, Miss Lillian? To think we would see each other so soon! I see that you’ve been helping out around here as well."
"Well, it’s only right that I would help."
"Hehe."
The two then froze as the ceiling to the surface above them suddenly bursted open.
Lillian quickly grabbed the old man and ran away, dodging the large chunks of falling debris that were hidden under the curtains of dust.
Once getting to somewhere safe, Lillian looked back at that particular spot on the ceiling and found a colossal diamond-tipped spear through it - that was pulled back up soon after.
Standing on the surface, the Colossal Mountain Sieger lifted its spear from the ground, using it as a crutch to stabilise its balance before looking over the landscape.
It would then be bombarded with heavy-artillery turrets planted all over the academy, mainly on the stone body of the eastern dragon that circled the entire perimeter of the academy.
Heavy bomb shells crashed into the colossal stone statue with enough firepower to pierce through and destroy 20 modern tanks in a row.
Even monsters that had undergone three whole evolutions to increase their defences would fall miserably to these shells.
They were called HPA (Heavy Piercing Ammunition) Shells.
And dozens upon hundreds of these bombshells fell upon the Mountain Sieger, colliding with a forcefield that had magically appeared around its body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The HPA Shells did little to no damage.
Once the artillery paused to reload, it was already too late.
With cold and robotic indifference, the Mountain Sieger raised its spear, adjusting its grip until its hand was situated near the butt of its weapon.
The spear would then go on to transform into a majestic longsword.
Tightening its grip around the sword’s hilt, the Mountain Sieger began to spin in place.
With its spin, the air around it spun as well, picking up speed along with the Mountain Sieger and becoming something akin to a tornado that gradually began to rip the buildings from their foundations.
Then, with a swing of its longsword, it caused space to crack and explode outwards - an omnidirectional attack of pure destruction.
The turrets that were placed all across the academy were destroyed instantly; the entire marketplace was destroyed; the great statue of the eastern dragon that circled around the beautiful, lush valley was destroyed.
As well as the mountains in the far off distance and the chains that tied the floating island down to the earth...
Standing in the centre of desolation, only the Mountain Sieger remained - unmoved and unimpressed with the defences of the area it was sieging.
Transforming its longsword back into a spear, it aimed upwards at the floating island above, which began to slowly ascend.
With the chains that once tied it to the ground now gone, it was free to escape to the heavens.
The Mountain Sieger saw this, but found no reason for it to escape. With a powerful stomp forward, the colossal statue hurled its spear towards the floating island, its throw cracking and rupturing the ground beneath it.
The spear shot towards the floating island with the speed of—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
—Mach 3.
With three consecutive air cones erupting behind it, the spear sped towards the floating island. And when it was about to collide...
DING...
A soft but resounding ding occurred, followed by a sweeping shockwave that spread outwards in the form of an air ring.
The island, as though drawn in by the ding sound, ceased its ascension and remained in place.
And under the glistening light of the pure moon, the appearance of a faint fog of smoke could be seen shrouding the entire island, holding it in place as if it were a hand that belonged to a deity.
"Sigh... I didn’t account for such an event happening today."
CLANG!
The Mountain Sieger stepped to the side, dodging the spear that was reflected right back at it with the same speed. It would then gaze up at the sky, staring at the figure hovering below the floating island on a small cloud of smoke.
Ensho Kurogane, the Headmaster of the Academy, stood on a cloud of smoke of his own creation - holding a long naginata in his right hand that resembled a flag pole due to the large cloth attached to it.
Slowly lowering from high above the sky, the Rising Smoke of the East gazed upon the desolate terrain; his eyes reflected sadness as he swept his eyes across the land.
However, that was all. No anger, no annoyance, just sadness for the scenery he had loved ruined.
And the reason?
Upon picking up its spear, the Mountain Sieger was soon met with a golden formation that appeared above the entire valley. Then, one by one, the buildings that once made up the marketplace began to be reconstructed.
The ancient statue of the eastern dragon was repaired; the chains that tied the floating island to the ground were repaired. It was as if time had reversed everything that was destroyed.
Ensho spun the naginata in his hand.
It had a long and crimson scaly shaft, a long curved blade with wavy crimson patterns forged into the metal, and a deep red cloth tied to the weapon. And covering it from blade to shaft were runes.
This was Ensho’s signature weapon; forged from the remains of a crimson volcanic dragon. Its name was Kagero.
The reason why he didn’t feel anything beyond sadness or gloom was because of this particular reason, for besides the lives lost during the auction, those that still lingered on the surface were promptly evacuated.
Watching as all that had been destroyed was restored, the Rising Smoke of the East muttered this as he assumed a fighting stance:
"The world teaches us that structures can be rebuilt; wood regrows; stone endures; and hands learn their craft anew."
Before the Mountain Sieger could even react, the forcefield that was built into its body sparked back to life as a roaring attack landed - shattering through its once-impenetrable barrier.
Having stuck the Mountain Sieger with his Naginata, which glowed intensely, the Rising Smoke of the East launched the heavy entity far into the sky.
And when the Mountain Sieger reached the peak of its flight, it was then slapped away by a dense fog of smoke, carrying it far away from the academy and slamming it into a mountain far away.
"Yet no forest, mountain, nor master can return a life lost through haste or indifference..."
Then, with a single leap, the Rising Smoke chased after it with blurring speed that caused three aircones to erupt behind him.
Rising from its landing site, the Mountain Sieger raised its spear and transformed it into a sword.
Then, with a large upward sweep, it caused yet another chasm-inflicting attack on the terrain, which charged towards Ensho’s location.
However, its efforts were futile in the face of the Rising Smoke.
Dodging all of the Mountain Sieger’s attacks and clashing with it again, the Rising Smoke launched it farther away from the valley.
Each strike left lasting wounds on the Mountain Sieger as it was sent farther and farther, even being tossed through stone hills after hills.
Afterwards, when they reached far enough, the Rising Smoke slowly made its way above the colossal statue with cold indifference, watching as the colossal statue healed its injuries in mere seconds.
Its body was like an entire mountain, both in endurance and toughness.
But not only that, the Mountain Sieger’s strength was quickly rising the more it fought within the rocky areas, especially in valleys and between mountains.
Because of this, their mountain-splitting battle lasted for several hours, 4 to be exact, leading to the break of dawn of the next day to appear from over the mountain tops.
Well, the mountain tops that weren’t completely destroyed.
The Rising Smoke was now facing the Mountain Sieger that had more than doubled its original strength - its attacks were now to reach dozens of miles.
Enough was enough.
"Huu..."
After taking another puff from his cigar, a specialised cigar made for him that would last for hours, he raised his naginata.
He then went on to move into another stance, one which exuded a much more powerful aura - he was going full-force now.
"To see the true foundations of any home, country, or nation, is to see the breath of their people and residents. On this day, you have committed the greatest sins of putting my students in danger..."
In the past, if only he had been there to accompany the previous headmaster to that tournament that happened a month ago.
He had been tasked with something that prevented him from going. But...
If only...
If only he were there...
"Pay it with your body so that we may construct stronger foundations from your remains." The Rising Smoke growled, anger finally seeping through his indifferent facade.
If only he were there, he might’ve been able to reduce the number of casualties.
The smoke that was emitted from his body started to undergo a rapid transformation. Its murky and suffocating appearance began to ignite with fury and glow bright orange.
His eyes began to glow brightly as well.
"[Sootheart Ignition], [Volcanic Overdrive]..."
Ensho’s veins glowed a bright and volcanic orange, leading him to take on a fiery appearance as his smoke magically transformed into ash.
He would then raise his naginata towards the sky, which slowly manifested two rings of mana around its blade.
This phenomenon was called Mantra.
The Mountain Sieger watched as the Rising Smoke took off high in the sky before diving down towards it.
It didn’t remain passive.
Transforming its sword back into a spear, it stabbed upwards - its mana causing the space around it to crack and warp.
Diving through the air, the Rising Smoke began to emit black smoke from his body - mixed in with the ashes that ignited around him.
He would then take on a colossal beast form made of black smoke that was comparable to the Mountain Sieger in size; his naginata took on the form of the horn of the beast.
Rising Smoke of the East was one of the many titles he gained, but there was another - one he wasn’t proud of...
The Demon of Black Smoke.
Diving downwards, his voice roared out thunderously as he collided with the Mountain Sieger’s spear like an orbital strike:
"[DIVE OF THE PRIMEVAL SMOKE DEMON]!"
Their clash left the world coming to a standstill as, at the point of collision, a volcanic explosion occurred with enough force to be comparable to a small hydrogen bomb.
BOOM!
What happened next, you may ask? Well...
.
.
.
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
The light of dawn came, along with peace, as the outbreak finally came to a close.