Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 400

**Side: Athena**

How long has it been since the fight began?

The number of monsters has been halved, but since we started with so many and there are also large ones, it doesn’t look like much has decreased.

“There are many of them, and it’s troublesome because one out of every twenty or so is an Anomaly Species,” Yamato grumbles. I can sympathize.

The monsters overflowing from the Labyrinth have a lot of G-rank ones, and occasionally P-rank, but among them are sometimes Anomaly or Catastrophe Species. In terms of rank, there are many from P-I rank to M-C rank, and sometimes A-I rank or A-C rank are mixed in, but if they are present, we have to deal with them accordingly, so it’s really tough.

See, as soon as I mention it, another one appears.

“A Quakefoot Moa this time. Another troublesome one.”

The Quakefoot Moa is a Catastrophe Species of Earth Rock, ranked M-C. It’s a subspecies of Ice Rock and uses Earth attribute magic, but the Earth Rock is a bird-type monster that cannot fly. Instead, its legs are strong, so it’s fast, and if you get kicked by those legs, it won’t be a simple injury. Yamato said it was something like an ostrich, but since it’s about 5 meters tall, he also said it was a bit different.

“Huh? Yamato, isn’t that Quakefoot Moa a bit different?”

“It is. I can’t believe it… ‘Questing.’ Damn, it’s W-rank.”

W-rank means it has wings, right? It’s hard to tell with a bird-type monster, but if it’s W-rank, then that Quakefoot Moa can also fly. Oh boy, this is going to be really troublesome.

“Athena, Yamato and Jade will take down the surrounding Hard Crack Birds. So, for a while, can you handle the Quakefoot Moa?”

“Understood. Then I’ll dragonize.”

The G-R rank monster Hard Crack Bird is a rare species of Earth Rock. However, there are nearly 30 of them, and if we don’t defeat them first, we don’t know what the Quakefoot Moa will do. So Yamato intends to defeat the Hard Crack Birds with Jade, and in the meantime, I’ll keep the Quakefoot Moa at bay. I think I can manage without dragonizing, but I also want to try out the Unique Magic I developed with Yamato, so I want to dragonize now.

“Understood. Then, let’s take down the Quakefoot Moa with this.”

“Yeah!”

That’s why I like Yamato. I’m fired up, here I go!

After dragonizing, I immediately unleashed Magma Light Breath. I was originally an Earth Light Dragonian, and Earth Light Dragonians are of the Light attribute. Light attribute Dragonians have one other attribute besides Light, and in my case, it’s Earth. Therefore, my Celestial Dragon Resonance Magic Ether Breath is also a Light and Earth breath. I developed the Unique Magic Magma Light Breath using this Ether Breath, and since it’s easy to use, I’ve decided to prioritize this breath even in my dragonized state. It’s not just about power, but also because I can chase after my opponent with my will, it’s incredibly convenient.

That Magma Light Breath engulfed a few Hard Crack Birds and hit the Quakefoot Moa directly. But given it’s M-W rank, the Quakefoot Moa didn’t fall even after taking a direct hit from my Magma Light Breath. Honestly, that’s a little annoying.

As I approached through the sky, I blocked the Quakefoot Moa’s beak with my claws imbued with the Unique Magic Blaze Light Blade. Wow, it’s stronger than I expected. But since my dragonized body is larger, I managed to not be overpowered. I would have been in trouble if I hadn’t dragonized.

“You little..! ”

I swung the arm opposite to the one I used to block, trying to shake off the Quakefoot Moa, but it quickly distanced itself from me. It seemed to have moved about 20 meters away in an instant, which is beyond just fast. If I were to breathe Magma Light Breath again, it would probably dodge it and easily get inside my guard.

“I have to do it anyway!”

I imbued both my claws with Blaze Light Blade again and breathed Magma Light Breath. Then the Quakefoot Moa flew into the sky and approached me with tremendous speed. I also stopped breathing Magma Light Breath immediately and braced myself to receive the charge. Alright, just as planned!

“Caught you!”

The charge was strong, so I didn’t come out completely unscathed, but I managed to pierce the Quakefoot Moa with my left claw. While my claw was embedded in the Quakefoot Moa, I imbued my fangs with Blaze Light Blade and bit down with all my might. I don’t like getting blood in my mouth, but my fangs are more powerful than my claws, and I’ve heard that you get used to it, so I’m going to try my best. Ah, I mean, it’s not about getting used to the blood, but being able to prevent blood from entering my mouth. Apparently, if you use the Unique Magic creatively, you don’t have to end up with a bloody mouth even when biting. Eos said she’s not perfect at it yet, so I think I’ll ask everyone in the Crystal Palace about it when we return.

“Athena, sorry to keep you waiting!”

While I was biting the Quakefoot Moa with all my might, Yamato, who had defeated the Hard Crack Birds, arrived on Jade. As soon as I confirmed Yamato’s arrival, I released my fangs and threw the Quakefoot Moa away with a powerful swing of my left arm.

“Ah, I don’t think we needed to test this. If we leave it alone, won’t it die?”

It was clearly near death, having bitten firmly into its neck. I didn’t notice it in my desperation, but if I had bitten a little longer, I could have defeated it.

“But since I haven’t used it in actual combat yet, it serves as a test, right?”

“That’s true. Then, Athena, let’s go.”

“Yeah!”

Yamato released Jade into the sky and jumped onto my back. After confirming this, I imbued myself with Wing Burst and soared into the sky. Yamato also grew wings using Wing Burst, so we’re ready.

“Let’s go!”

“Leave it to me!”

As Yamato used Engraving Magic as a signal, I breathed Magma Light Breath. Magma Light Breath also incorporates Telekinetic Magic, so I can freely pursue my target with my will. However, this time I dispersed it midway, making it rain-like, so there’s no way it can do that. The power of each blow is reduced, but this isn’t meant to attack the Quakefoot Moa, so it’s fine like this.

“Be swallowed by the earth!”

Then, Yamato’s Engraving magic, Nib lung Heim and Yggdrasil, which were imbued with the Celestial Magic Enchantment Magic Multi-Ring, absorbed my Magma Light Breath, which was also imbued with Multi-Ring, and bared its fangs widely. Not metaphorically, but the ground itself opened a huge mouth, swallowing the Quakefoot Moa, and within that mouth, Yamato’s S-rank Engraving Magic Ice Mist Explosion was also activated. Since this Ice Mist Explosion is also imbued with my Magma Light Breath, its power is greatly enhanced.

Eventually, the mouth of the earth opened, and the Quakefoot Moa was spat out towards the sky with great force due to the power of Ice Mist Explosion and Magma Light Breath. It was clear it was already dead, but if it were still alive, we had planned a follow-up attack.

This is Yamato’s and my Dragon Resonance Magic Granbite Eruption.

“Not bad.”

“Yeah. As I get used to it, I think I’ll be able to use it without dragonizing.”

“Ah, that’s right. Dragon Resonance Magic is normally used when dragonized, but Hydragonians and above can use it without dragonizing if they get used to it, can’t they?”

As Yamato says, Dragon Resonance Magic can only be used when dragonized. Complete dragonization not only changes you into a dragon’s form but also increases your Magic Power according to your size and improves your Magic Power control, so Dragon Resonance Magic that is too powerful cannot be controlled by a normal Dragonian who is not dragonized. Even Dragonians, who boast the largest Magic Power among all races, cannot control it without complete dragonization, so it was quite difficult for me when I was developing it.

However, when you evolve into a Hydragonian, your Magic Power further increases, and your Magic Power control also improves, allowing you to use Dragon Resonance Magic without dragonizing. Nevertheless, it’s still difficult, and unless you get used to it, accidents can happen. I am an Ancient Dragonian, but hearing that made me scared, so I’ve decided not to use Dragon Resonance Magic unless I’m completely dragonized until I really get used to it.

“Understood. If that’s the case, shall we take down those guys with Granbite Eruption too?”

“Eh? Ah!”

After defeating the Quakefoot Moa with Granbite Eruption, I had let my guard down for a moment. As Yamato pointed, another group of monsters was approaching us.

“A pack of Megalosaurus, what a joke. And there’s something that looks like a Tyrannosaurus, but it’s clearly different.”

The Megalosaurus is a rare species of Allosaurus, ranked G-U. I’ve hunted them several times in the Krater Labyrinth, but they are monsters that never form packs. However, about ten of these Megalosaurus are approaching Yamato and me in a pack, and there’s even a monster that looks like a Tyrannosaurus, which is more than a size larger than a Megalosaurus.

“‘Questing.’ Is that one Alpago?”

Alpago… Ah, it’s a Catastrophe Species! An A-C rank monster, and one that has only been confirmed in labyrinths! Oh wow, even the M-I rank Tyrannosaurus almost destroyed Valentia, and now an A-C rank monster like Alpago is appearing… They say this Labyrinth Flood occurred because the Gagun Labyrinth was left unattended, but still, aren’t the monster ranks too high?

“I was wondering about that too. That’s why I think we need to enter the Gagun Labyrinth once we’ve quelled the Labyrinth Flood. Although, it’s uncertain if we’ll find the reason there.”

Oops, I spoke my mind. But Yamato seems to be wondering about it too, and there are a lot of them and their Monster Ranks are high, so it can’t be helped.

It’s not uncommon for Anomaly Species or Catastrophe Species to appear in a Labyrinth Flood, but in past examples, it has almost always been one, or at most five, according to records. However, in this Labyrinth Flood from the Gagun Labyrinth, there are about 20 Catastrophe Species alone, which is more than just a lot. Investigation of the labyrinth can only be done by entering it, so I agree with entering it after the Labyrinth Flood. I might even be able to clear it incidentally.

“Whether it can be cleared incidentally or not is debatable, but that’s also an option. We’ll think about that later, but for now, let’s defeat them!”

“Yeah!”

That’s also a problem, but for now, we need to deal with this. After confirming that Yamato was on my back, I soared into the sky once more.