We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
One world.
I settled my thoughts, which had been pondering the nature of curses, for a moment.
Then, I faced Listea, who had the Fire Phoenix perched on her shoulder and her Holy Sword at the ready.
“Kukukuku. Hero, accept my sword!”
“That sounds like a villain’s line!”
Listea and the others offered bitter smiles. Well, jokes aside.
I refined my dragon energy.
Priscilla-chan, who was staying behind with Mistral and the others in the Forbidden Territory, seemed bored, so Ares-chan manifested.
I fused with Ares-chan and unleashed my dragon energy from the start.
Listea, too, confirmed my combat readiness and merged with the Phoenix once more.
Enveloped in overflowing dragon energy, Listea clad in flames, and I confronted each other head-on.
“Here I go!”
Listea powerfully kicked off the ground and leaped. Flames blazed and spread like wings, closing in on me. I channeled dragon energy into the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword and met the attack.
With a roar of flames, the Holy Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword clashed. The Spirit Tree Wooden Sword was indeed made of “wood,” but it could withstand the flames Listea unleashed without any problems. I easily shrugged off Listea’s initial attack. But then, a fiery follow-up assault attacked.
Listea’s flames surpassed the realm of curses and were now attacking me as real fire. But this, conversely, became my means of defense.
“Tinkle, tinkle.”
Ares-chan commanded me from within. Then, the Fire Spirit moved.
“What?!”
The flames, as if possessing a will of their own, writhed and attacked me. However, the flames moved away from me. Not only that, but the flames that had distanced themselves from Listea significantly weakened and were extinguished in an instant. Listea was astonished that her flames were not under her control.
“Alright, this way, I won’t be afraid of Listea’s flames either!”
Fueled by momentum, I flashed my White Sword. Listea blocked the horizontal slash with her Holy Sword. A heavy sensation transmitted to my right hand.
A powerful slash like this would normally be deflected. This way, the opponent’s force can be dispersed, and it’s easier to transition to the next move. However, Listea, who had mastered proper swordsmanship, seemed to fight by taking attacks head-on. Unlike Listea, being able to take the hit directly prevented me from transitioning to the next move. Still, I too am a wielder of the Dragon Sword Dance. Using the point where the White Sword and Holy Sword met as a starting point, I added rotation to my body. And then, I unleashed a barrage of attacks. Listea skillfully parried the slashes of the White Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, and also dealt with the coordinated kicks. While doing so, she powerfully swung her Holy Sword as if to return the favor. Flames danced wildly, and in an instant, I found myself plunged into a sea of fire.
“Hey, over there, hero, if it were anyone else, they’d be roasted alive by this!”
“But it’s precisely because it’s you that you can defend against it, isn’t it?”
Listea unleashed flames without holding back. Pillars of fire rose, and the scenery warped with heatwaves. But I was indeed defending. The flames died down before reaching me, and the heat didn’t penetrate. I felt the presence of spirits gathering around me. The Fire Spirit, acting on Ares-chan’s will, protected me. And the Water Spirit cooled me down. That wasn’t all. The flames were stripped away and rendered powerless by a mini-tornado of dragon energy. Because I was completely confident in my defense, Listea fought with all her might, and I met her expectation without fail. I felt strangely happy. And it was fun. Listea trusted me. I, too, trusted Listea.
The match between us, who understood each other, was a back-and-forth struggle. However, as time passed, my offensive gradually became longer. If Listea was going to challenge me with all her might, I wouldn’t hold back either. Before the genuine Dragon Sword Dance, any opponent is simply a co-performer in the dance! For some reason, my body moved more lightly than usual. I danced the Dragon Sword Dance freely. The swordplay and physical techniques, performed as if acting out a scene from a dance, pressed in on Listea, threading through the spaces between the Holy Sword and the flames. Listea desperately defended while retreating.
“You guys are having too much fun!”
But then, an intruder! SlAttOn, his curse apparently having been lifted, launched a surprise attack! His greatsword gleamed with a pale blue light as he closed in on me.
“Hey, you pesky hindrance.”
I swiftly sheathed my White Sword at my left hip and extended my right hand toward SlAttOn.
“What are you doing?!”
I grabbed SlAttOn’s arm with a speed that he couldn’t react to. “Because, if I took that sword head-on, it would just pass through me, you know?” I said, and then tossed SlAttOn away. With a single-handed throw from me, SlAttOn flew off in a completely different direction. Hm, was I this strong? Of course, my body, reinforced with dragon energy, is tough. SlAttOn, with his tall stature, has a solid build. So, he has a lot of weight. I was surprised myself that I could throw him away so easily. “Ah, that’s not it!” But then I realized. I had received a body-strengthening curse from Creacio, hadn’t I? Was it the synergistic effect of sorcery and dragon energy? My body seemed to be reinforced more than usual. With SlAttOn’s exit, Listea closed the distance again. I drew my White Sword again and resumed the Dragon Sword Dance. And while dancing, I turned my consciousness inward a little. “What am I like right now?” Switching my consciousness from the outside to the inside, I realized that dragon energy was flowing intensely throughout my body. Not only that. I was filled with Ares-chan’s reliable presence. And I felt external interference, as if supporting my every move. It was a strange sensation. The three powers seemed completely separate, yet they didn’t conflict. On the contrary, without even needing to consciously perceive their individual influences, their powers harmonized and blended skillfully. Though I received support from sorcery for the first time today, I was convinced that it was wonderful. And then, it occurred to me. I was taught that sorcery makes unseen influences visible and leads to real phenomena. But is this something that can only be said about sorcery? When Mistral unleashes his special move, his one-handed club leaves a trail like a meteor. Zan turns dragon energy into silver flames. In the first place, dragon arts are a transmutation of dragon energy, which causes phenomena such as varied appearances and great destructive power. It’s not just that. Spirit arts are similar. Spirits freely manipulate their attributes and interfere with all things in nature. The reason Listea’s flames don’t reach me is also a tactic that took advantage of the idea that spirits can interfere with “flames” that have become real. By learning the basics of sorcery, I discovered an unexpected commonality in the techniques that differ by race. And then, I gasped. Creacio taught me. The visible world and the colors seen when closing one’s eyes are the same world. Then… Ares-chan, receiving my intent, happily unleashed more power. New power overflowed within me. The spirits danced joyfully. The world rippled. My consciousness crossed the boundaries of the world. A faint sense of weightlessness enveloped my entire body. It was as if I were floating in water. With every movement of my limbs, the aura clinging to my body agitated the world. The scenery had changed. Instead of dazzling rainbow colors, a gentle, pale hue filled the world. A landscape dominated by color, different from the world Creacio had spoken of. The world of myriad colors mixed and changed intricately with every movement I made, with every gust of wind and flicker of flame. And then, I saw. My friends, whom I could normally only see when they manifested. The Fire Spirit was dancing. The Water Spirit clapped its hands, and the Earth Spirit stamped its feet. Spirits of various attributes were playing merrily around me. I had visited this world once before. A mysterious space, like a dream, yet not a dream. When I saved Yunyun and Rinrin in the Great Forest of the East, I stepped into the world of spirits. And now, I had come again to a realm governed by the logic of spirits. However, not everything was the same as last time. Although my body was enfolded in a strange sensation, I had not lost sight of reality. I was firmly on the ground, holding weapons in both hands. And I was sharing time with Listea, dancing the Dragon Sword Dance while fending off flames. “This is…” The vision of reality and the world of spirits overlapped perfectly. I had heard Creacio’s words and wondered. This world is said by the Human Race to have been created by the Goddess of Creation. Then, is it not possible that the world we normally see, the world seen by sorcerers with special talents like Creacio, and the world inhabited by spirits are all actually the same “world”? The ordinary world of seeing, feeling, and knowing. Conversely, there is also a world of not seeing, not feeling, and not knowing. But are these not all one “world” created by the Goddess, and not completely separate spaces? If so… I borrowed only Ares-chan’s power and stepped into the world of spirits once more. And I was convinced. My idea was not wrong. Indeed, the visible real world, the world of colors seen by sorcerers, and the world governed by the logic of spirits are all the same world. I could see Listea swinging her Holy Sword. The pale colors floating in the world of spirits turned red around the Holy Sword and spread, stirred. The Fire Spirits, dancing, brushed them away. Rather than brushing them away, it was as if they were donning them like clothing, adorning themselves and playing. Listea’s flames had become playthings for the Fire Spirits. The Fire Spirits danced joyfully, waving vibrant reds, and moved away. Then, a colorless region appeared where the Holy Sword had reddened the space. Into this, the Water Spirits dived along with a pale blue hue. The Water Spirits filled the colorless space with pale blue and sang joyfully. Although there was no water around, my skin perceived a solid humidity and a cool touch. Thanks to the dense aura filling the world of spirits, I could feel even the slightest changes and influences occurring in the world as if they were in my hands. It was a very strange sensation. I swung the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, intending to receive one of Listea’s Holy Sword strikes. Then, the world showed further change. I felt the presence of the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword gripped in my left hand more strongly than usual. That was only natural. The Spirit Tree, having received dragon energy from me, was singing in high spirits. A refreshing, gentle singing voice spread throughout the world. At the same time, the aura emitted by the Spirit Tree enveloped the world. No, it overlapped. This too was a strange sensation. The aura emitted by the Spirit Tree did not invade the world at all. If anything… The tangible world we see. The world of spirits. And then, there was another. It felt as if a world created by the aura emitted by the Spirit Tree had overlapped. The pale colors and dense aura of the spirit world, the everyday scenery reflected in my eyes, the trees and grass, the wind, the sky, the earth, and the buildings – the aura of the Spirit Tree gently overlapped all of them. And, as if to draw a line through that overlapping world, the Spirit Tree stood dignified. A world layered over multiple levels. Yet, I recognized that these were not separate spaces, but a single world. “Then… what if I could influence everything in this single world…?” “Wonderful, wonderful.” Ares-chan was delighted. As if to bless me for finally realizing it. I let my consciousness melt deeply into the world. Then, all the worlds overlapped and became visible, more so than before. While being aware of the world, I swung the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword. I moved my body gently, without forcing myself. But even with that, I was able to keep up with Listea’s sharp movements. Listea’s Holy Sword and my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword crossed. “Ah!!” I stopped my hand instinctively. “No. I’m scared to go any further!” Perhaps my consciousness was disturbed by an inexplicable sense of unease, but in an instant, I could no longer perceive the spirit world or the aura of the Spirit Tree. And only the visible reality reflected in my eyes. “Elnea, what’s wrong?” Listea stopped her Holy Sword and looked at me with concern. “Elnea-kun, you…?” Creacio looked at me with great curiosity. “Uh, my concentration broke.” I tried to play it off with a “tehepero,” and Listea sighed. “Good grief, you…” Saying that, Listea sheathed her Holy Sword. It seemed the sparring was over. I also sheathed my White Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword and took a deep breath. What was that sensation just now? There was no warning from Ares-chan. In fact, she seemed very happy? Yet, my instincts hesitated to go further. I was curious about what lay beyond, but for some reason, I didn’t have the courage to try again immediately. “You know… at the end there, Elnea-cchi’s aura and movements were like someone else entirely, right? Or rather, your eyes were shining so beautifully!” “D-do they?” “Yes. Um, if I may say so, from a certain point, I couldn’t discern Elnea-kun’s color?” “Eh, color?” “Yes. It was a color, or perhaps an aura, that couldn’t be described.” “I thought I was defeated too, at the end. Ah, with this one move, I’m going to lose, I somehow knew it. That’s why I was so surprised when you suddenly stopped.” “Hmm…” Naimi, who had no dragon power or curse power, felt some kind of aura from me. And my pupils were shining more than usual? When I fuse with Ares-chan, my pupils shine golden, but was it shining even more than usual? Creacio, with her special talent, might have seen the strange world I felt. And Listea, after just clashing swords, inexplicably felt sure of defeat. “Listea, I’m sorry for losing my concentration midway. But I feel like I’ve grasped something?” “Is that so? Then that’s good. The conclusion of our match will be another time. I’ll also work hard to keep up with you a little more next time.” “Ahh, the Hero is aiming to become even more non-human!” “You’re the non-human one!” Responding to Listea’s retort, we laughed. However, there was one man shouting. “Elnea, I haven’t lost yet!” Clicking the heart allows you to easily convey your support. (Login required.) Support If you have an account, log in. Learn more about the reading experience possible on Kakuyomu.
