Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Chapter 6.18

Translator : PolterGlast

On the shores of a seemingly infinite lake, a jet-black giant dragon, unable to hide its gut-boiling anger, swung its foot up to crush the dwarf-like human in front of him.

The person, who was as small as a pea from the dragon's point of view, jumped away from the place with a gale-like speed and swung out the katana in his hand just to counterattack.

The extremely sharpened flying blade struck Tiamat's foot, but it was blasted away like a raindrop before the jet-black scales of the dragon, only to dissipate into thin air.

The dragon's foot that was swung down hit the ground, and the shattered rock came crashing down on Nozomu along with the shockwave.

The shockwaves that shot out in all directions rushed across the ground like beasts, giving Nozomu no chance or space to avoid them.

Nozomu swung his katana in a circle and used his Qi technique [Fan Shaped Sail] to block the incoming shockwave.

The membrane of Qi that had been deployed bent and was able to stop the shockwave from Tiamat's attack.

However, Nozomu, who was swallowed by the shockwave and got hit by the stone rubbles, came to a complete halt.

Tiamat's body rotated using the foot that was hit onto the ground as its pivot, and the tail that had gained momentum was swung out towards Nozomu.

There was no way that Nozomu, who was completely stopped in his tracks, could avoid it. The tail hit him and he was flung far away, unable to even scream in pain.

Nozomu's body slammed into the ground many times.

The sound of bones cracking from all over his body echoed in his ears, and as his vision continued to spin, his body finally stopped after about ten seconds.

However, his body was already full of wounds.

He tried to get up, but his left arm and right leg were completely broken and hung down.

Severe pain ran on his flank, and the broken ribs must have pierced his lungs because when he coughed, clots of blood came out of his mouth.

With just one blow, Nozomu was critically injured and cornered.

Even so, he supported his body with his right hand and gritted his teeth to raise himself up.

He then looked straight at the giant dragon that was displaying its majesty in front of him.

Even though he was no match for it in strength, he would not give up.

His eyes, lit up by a strong will, were directed at Tiamat.

(~!!)

His eyes irritated Tiamat even more.

(Why can you look at me like that! Why won't you give up! Why... why do you speak like that to the person who betrayed you!)

Tiamat opened its mouth, anger boiling in its chest as if an old wound that wouldn't heal had been gouged out from it.

(I'll never acknowledge it!)

With such clear rejection and resentment in its heart, the giant dragon gathered all the power it could in its throat and released its burning anger to completely deny the human being glaring in front of him.

The giant flames of chaos that evaporated the lake rushed forward, it quickly swallowed Nozomu and obliterated him without a trace. After the giant flame had gone, only the gouged ground remained.

Surely, this time...

Such thoughts passed through the giant dragon's mind, but right after that, a bell-like sound rang... it echoed in that space.

(Kuh~!?)

At the same time, ripples spread across the surface of the water, and countless chains shot out from the bottom of the lake.

Like a flock of flying birds, the chains stretched out into the air, and the next moment, they attacked the jet-black dragon and began to bind its body like hunting dogs.

The chains that flew out one after another wrapped around Tiamat's body in multiple layers, depriving the dragon of its freedom.

(~! This is annoying!)

Tiamat spread its wings in an attempt to escape from the chains.

However, the seemingly unreliable chains somehow completely suppressed the jet-black dragon's physical strength, and no matter how much Tiamat flapped its wings, it could not allow his body to soar high.

Even so, Tiamat desperately continued to fight back. It flapped its wings, thrust its fangs into the chains, and fired light bullets.

However, the chains wrapped around its body could not be damaged, and finally, its wing became entangled with the chains, and the dragon was dragged down to the lake.

Tiamat was dragged down into the lake as it is.

Tiamat tried to escape by strengthening its giant tree-like legs, but it could not resist, and its huge body gradually sank into the lake.

Its legs, torso, wings, and neck were completely submerged, and the surface of the water was close to its throat.

Tiamat shook its head desperately, but there was no way to escape.

Then, with a gurgling sound, the remaining head was completely submerged.

At the same time, his consciousness fades away.

Rage, revenge, disappointment, resignation, and desolation.

Consumed by these chaotic emotions, the dragon sank into the depths of the lake.

Until the very end, until its eyes completely closed, it continued to glare at the glistening surface of the water with hatred, frustration, and a hint of sadness.

========================================

Voices filled with vitality echoed throughout the school.

Boys and girls in white uniforms were walking down the corridor with smiles on their faces.

It was the usual ordinary afternoon scene. It was a scene that could be said as everyday life in this school.

However, that peaceful atmosphere was suddenly broken.

"Doaaaa!!"

A dying scream echoed throughout the school building.

The students jumped up in surprise, their eyes fixed on the recently restored martial arts garden.

The sound of explosions continued to be heard.

*Boom!*

*Thud!*

The roaring sound that echoed in quick succession seemed like the march of a giant.

For a while, the sound of the explosions shook the air in the school, but after an exceptionally loud bang and raising a cloud of dust, it became completely inaudible.

*......*

The whole school fell silent. The students, who had no idea what was going on, just looked up at the martial arts garden with stunned expressions on their faces.

====================================

In the martial arts garden hat had been roaring earlier, a man was standing with a giant sword propped up on the ground. Outside the arena were Irisdina, Sh?na and the others, as well as Somia from Ecross.

In front of the man was the figure of Nozomu, who was lying on the ground like a doll.

When it was lunchtime and he was about to leave the classroom, Nozomu was caught by Jihad who was waiting for him in front of the classroom, and he was taken to the martial arts garden for another combat training.

"... There's no movement. He's like a corpse already."

Feo rushed to Nozomu, who was lying on the ground like a toad, and after poking him with a stick, Feo shrugged his shoulders and said something like a joke.

"... I'm still alive"

"Fugya!"

While making an eerie voice, Nozomu grabbed Feo by the tail.

When his tail was suddenly grabbed, he yelped and turned around.

He saw Nozomu looking up at him with an eerie smile on his face.

Nozomu looked like a demon who had just crawled out of the depths of hell, and Feo's face involuntarily twitched when he saw his appearance.

"Ara, Nozomu-san. You're still alive?"

"Yes, fortunately. Let me borrow your tail for a moment."

"Wha~! My tail is sensitive ... Gyann!"

Using Feo's tail like a rope, Nozomu stood up.

The mischievous fox was whimpering, but Nozomu completely ignored him.

With one last tug on his tail, Feo let out a loud scream and fell down.

Nozomu patted the dirt off his hands and turned to face Jihad.

"Hmm, well thought out as always. Your plan to block my sword is not bad. However, don't you think you could hold on a little longer?"

"What are you talking about after blowing me up into the air and taking away my freedom? ......"

Nozomu muttered in a hushed voice.

The result, as they could see, was a devastating defeat for Nozomu.

Nozomu somehow managed to see through the giant sword being swung towards him and lowered his posture to the ground while avoiding the Jaw Drop that Jihad swung at him by a hair's breadth.

He then leaped up and attacked with [Phantom -Clad-] enveloping his katana as he sprinted past the Jaw Drop.

He used his own weight to block the opponent's weapon and swung his katana in that gap.

Normally, people would have abandoned their weapon and turned to evasion, or he would have just taken Nozomu's slash.

However, Jihad forcibly pulled out his giant sword, which had sunk into the ground, and threw Nozomu into the air.

This action was so insane. His extraordinary physical strength made it possible for him to do such a thing.

Nozomu was stunned for a moment as he was thrown into the air, and then he found himself being flattened to the ground by the belly of the giant sword.

"That last one, however, I'm surprised you could dodge it. Even though your body has no more energy left to waste than a grain of sand ..."

"Thanks... By the way, is there anything else on your mind?"

Nozomu looked at Jihad with a frown. Jihad, on the other hand, tilted his head as if to say what was bothering him.

"Hmm? I wonder if I went too easy on you. I understand that you can't swing your katana as you did in the previous combat training. I thought I took it reasonably easy on you, didn't I?"

"That's not true!"

What was beyond Nozomu's outstretched hands was the gouged and dug-up ground.

It was true that the magical barriers of the martial arts garden were completely intact, but instead, the inside of the arena was completely ruined, as if a giant had gone on a rampage inside it.

However, the one who was rampaging was a man who could kick such a giant out of his way.

"Look at this mess! Holes are all over the place! What kind of battlefield is this!? Also, Inda-sensei is passed out on her feet!

Outside the arena, Inda-sensei was stunned while standing.

Inda-sensei's mouth was still half open, and Tima and Sh?na were tapping her on the shoulder and calling out to her, but she didn't seem to respond at all. She looked just like a corpse.

"Mm ... Well, sure, we've got a few holes here and there, but none of the magical barriers have been broken, so there should be no problem."

"That's enough..."

While putting his hand on his forehead, Nozomu looked up to the sky.

When they first met, and when he had told him about his master, Nozomu had thought what an intelligent person Jihad was.

But in the end, just like Shino, there was a part of him that seemed to have no common sense.

His shoulders slumped, and he let out a big sigh of resignation.

"Well then, we'll head back now..."

"Umu, you've done your best. Good luck in your afternoon classes."

Nozomu and the others left the martial arts garden while muttering "Yes..." with a weak voice.

Jihad saw Nozomu and the others off, but when he turned around, a grave voice called out to him from behind. Inda was standing there with a gloomy expression on her face.

He couldn't see behind her glasses because of the reflection of the light, but he could see her shoulders were trembling somehow.

"Jihad-sensei ..."

"Oh, Inda-dono. It's about time ..."

Jihad was about to invite her for lunch, but Inda interrupted him and thrust something at him.

Jihad took it without a second thought, but when he looked down at what he was holding in his hand, he saw that it was a big shovel.

"Please clean it up."

"……Ha?"

Jihad let out a dumbfounded voice at Inda's words. She gave off an indescribable atmosphere while pointing at the arena that had been gouged out.

After that, it seemed that a big man wearing silver armor was desperately filling a large hole in the ground.

=======================================

"What a horrible thing I just going through...."

With an exhausted expression on his face, Nozomu left the martial arts garden with his friends and headed for the school courtyard.

Perhaps it was because he had suffered so much in the combat training earlier, Nozomu's complexion did not look good.

"Nozomu-san, are you okay?"

Somia asked while looking up at Nozomu's face anxiously.

Nozomu waved his hand to say he was fine but was stopped in his tracks by an unexpected voice.

"Excuse me, do you know where Jihad Roundel is?"

"Hm?"

When Nozomu and the others turned their heads in the direction of the voice, they were greeted by the sight of a woman whose appearance looked far too unusual to be in a school like this.

"Um, may I ask who are you?"

"Nice to meet you. I am Mekria Aflect, a servant of Fabran Household."

"Fabran..."

When Irisdina heard the name Fabran, she turned her gaze to the woman named Mekria.

Like Irisdina, she had shiny black hair that reached her waist, and her body was so sensual that it reminded anyone who saw her of ripe fruit.

Her body, wrapped in a black robe reminiscent of a mourning dress, was tightly pushed up at the chest, and her slender, taut white legs peeked out from the slit skirt.

Her appearance was like a doll, with white skin and clear glass-like eyes.

At first glance, her appearance looked like an innocent lady, but the seductive smile around her mouth, combined with her black outfit, was reminiscent of a bewitching snake.

"You are the daughter of the Francilt Household, aren't you? Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"No, it is my pleasure. I've heard a lot about you, Mekria-dono, and I've heard that you're a very talented woman who is trusted by Egurd Fabran-dono."

"It's an honor to be remembered by the next head of the Francilt Household."

Irisdina and the woman who introduced herself as Mekria exchanged formal greetings as aristocrats.

Starting with sophisticated greetings and wordings, the area was filled with a glamorous atmosphere that was different from the usual student life. Both of them smiled and praised the other.

Mekria praised her achievements that she was the top student at Solminati Academy. And she said that Irisdina was recognized by Fabran Household.

While smiling and exchanging words of praise, the conversation between the two of them continued reverently.

Naturally, there was no way that Nozomu and his friends, who were ordinary people, could enter into such a conversation, so they could only watch what was going on in silence.

However, despite their seemingly dainty atmosphere, Nozomu felt a tingling tension in the air as the two continued their conversation.

It was as if they were carrying knives with poison on their backs.

Nozomu gulped and swallowed his saliva.

The two of them continued their conversation for a while, but then Irisdina asked Mekria as if she remembered something.

"By the way, Mekria-dono, what brings you to this school today?"

"I came to this school because I have something to do with Jihad-dono, but he wasn't in his office..."

"If you're looking for Jihad-dono then, he is in the martial arts garden."

Irisdina turned her eyes to the martial arts garden that she had just come out from.

"Thank you very much. Now, if you are willing to excuse me..."

Mekria bowed and disappeared into the martial arts garden.

Nozomu, who had been watching what was going on, approached Irisdina.

"Iris, do you know her?"

"No, it's not that we acquaintance with each other directly, but Fabran Household is one of the big families in Foskia, just like my household. I've met the head of that household a few times at parties."

"Hee..."

After Nozomu's casual reply, a silence enveloped the area.

He didn't really understand about aristocratic society, but judging from the heavy atmosphere earlier, it seemed that their relationship was not a friendly one.

"What's with your lackluster answer? And also, the atmosphere was strangely heavy for your first meeting, wasn't it?"

In the midst of this, Feo, with his usual boldness, broke the silence and asked a question from the front.

Irisdina smiled bitterly at Feo's bluntness.

"Well, her household and mine don't have a good relationship. I guess you could call it political enemies..."

Nozomu and the others were convinced that this was the reason for such an atmosphere.

Certainly, there was a strange sense of tension for someone they had never met before.

"My household, the Francilts, supported the construction of this Solminati Academy, and my father worked hard to build Arcazam not only in Foskia, but all over the continent. The Fabrans, on the other hand, have consistently maintained their opposition."

According to Irisdina, Mekria was a woman who had been assigned to serve Fabran Household a few years ago.

At that time, Fabran was having some problems, and it was said that it would take 20 years to solve the problems.

However, Mekria solved the problem in a few months. Her achievement was recognized, and she is now directly serving the head of the Fabran Household.

As they could see, she's a beautiful woman, so she seems to have had occasional opportunities to talk to Irisdina in social circles.

"Recently, Fabran Household has been regaining power with great momentum. It seems that the driving force behind this is Mekria-dono."

"From what Irisdina has told us, she seems to be a very capable person..."

"What on earth would a messenger from such a household want with Jihad-sensei..."

"Well, that's as far as I know about her."

It seemed that Irisdina didn't know why such an important person from a famous household came to this school.

'Well, what's the point in worrying about it? If Irisdina doesn't know her well, what's the point of talking about her now?"

Mars wasn't very good at thinking, but in a way he was right.

To be honest, there was so little information that it was obvious that there would be no answer to the question even if they discussed it here and now.

The story that Mekria may have brought may not be a good one, but this academy was created by the consensus of all the countries on the continent.

It was hard to imagine that it would be affected by the words of a single leader of a country.

"Well, that's true..."

"Let's go to the courtyard for the time being. To be honest, we'll miss lunch if we don't hurry because of Jihad-sensei..."

Mimuru urged them to go as if she was very hungry.

Her tail and ears were hanging down lazily and weakly, and they could almost hear the sound of her stomach growling.

"That's right. Let's go then."

Irisdina, who saw such Mimuru's appearance, smiled innocently, different from when she was talking to Mekria earlier and started walking towards the courtyard.

There was a lot of shade there, and it would be a good place to cool off from the hot summer sun.

Following after Mimuru, who exclaimed "Yes!" while clenching her fists, Tom and the others continued on their way.

Nozomu watched the others from behind, smiling happily at them.

"Hey, Nozomu ..."

"Hmm?"

When he noticed, there was Irisdina was next to him. She was fiddling with her hair, glancing sideways at Nozomu as if about to say something.

"Did you feel uncomfortable?"

"Eh?"

"Umm ... The me from earlier."

Apparently, Iris was quite concerned about the attitude that she had shown in her earlier exchange with Mekuria.

As for her, she probably didn't want to show the people close to her what she had just shown.

Her previous attitude was not the same person that Nozomu had seen at the academy or at Arcazam, but she was the next head of a household.

Certainly, Nozomu was surprised by the exchange between Irisdina and Mekria earlier. He had never actually witnessed Irisdina's behavior as a noblewoman before. Moreover, it was against a political opponent, as what she did just now, the surprise would be even greater.

However, Nozomu did not think that this would change his attitude towards Irisdina.

He was surprised and pressured, but it did not make him dislike her.

Nozomu shook his head as if to say he didn't mind, but Irisdina's expression was still somehow not good.

The way she looked at Nozomu was just like a child afraid of the dark.

"...... Is that so?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? What are you worried about?

If that was the extent of their relationship, Nozomu wouldn't have told her everything about his painful past. It was the same with Tiamat.

While saying so, Nozomu pointed to Mimuru, Mars, and Somia, who were rushing towards them in a hurry, and the others who were waiting for them.

"Yeah, I don't think they care about that either, do they?"

"O~i! Come on, both of you!"

"Ane-sama, what's wrong?"

"What are you doing, you two? We're going to lose our lunch break!"

Irisdina's eyes caught sight of her friends, who looked exactly the same as usual.

Nozomu glanced at Irisdina, shrugged his shoulders, and rushed to his friends at a fast pace to encourage her.

Irisdina also followed him.

The smile on her mouth was different from the one when she had met Mekria, and it was bright and colorful.

===================================

When Nozomu and the others were heading to the courtyard, Jihad and Inda were receiving the Fabran household's letter, brought by Mekria, who came as a messenger.

However, Jihad's appearance who received the letter was not the appearance of an honorable hero by any means, but the appearance of a dirt-covered construction worker.

"Then, I have certainly delivered the letter from my Lord."

"Thank you very much for delivering the letter. How about we take a little tour around the school?"

After leaving the received letter with Inda, Jihad asked Mekria if she would like to take a walk around the school.

However, she politely declined the invitation.

"No, it's a nice invitation, but I have other things to do today. Even so, it's a magnificent school building..."

Mekria looked out at the martial arts garden and the chalk-white school building behind it.

Her gaze circled around the martial arts garden and then turned back to Jihad.

A cold, icy gaze. It was not like Inda's eyes, which hid warmth within their harshness, but rather eyes that were completely devoid of humanity.

"But it's sad. Many people are still in tears because they cannot return to their homes. We need to help them return home as soon as possible."

"Yes, we will do our best to make that happen."

Jihad and Mekria exchanged formal words. In fact, the meaning behind her words was far from friendly, even to say the least.

In short, Mekria wanted to say, "We need troops right away. There's no point in spending the money we've squeezed out of our blood and sweat for a place like this".

Jihad completely ignored Mekria's true intentions while saying, "I will continue to do my best to educate the students".

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I will be staying in this city for a while by the order of my Lord."

Mekuria, who was completely taken aback by Jihad's words, left the place without a hint of displeasure on her face.

All that was left was Jihad, covered in dirt, and Inda, holding the letter of intent.

"What does the Fabran Household really want?"

"Well, perhaps......."

Jihad grabbed the letter of intent that he had entrusted to Inda, broke the seal, and began to read the contents.

Inda glared at his blunt gesture, but Jihad ignored her protesting gaze and continued reading.

Eventually, Jihad snorted and thrust the letter back to Inda

"Um, what exactly was written in it?"

"It's a letter of protest for the Abyss Grief incident that happened the other day. How can we abolish this school just based on a letter of protest from one of the most important families in this country?"

The letter addressed to him was full of protests about the recent resurrection of the Abyss Grief.

From one end of the letter to the other, it was filled with detailed protests and orders, such as "Don't force an experiment that is not safe," "What is the meaning of endangering the lives of council members and injuring people?"

In short, it was a harassment letter.

To be honest, though, Jihad was amazed at how they could come up with so many things to complain about.

And at the end of the letter, it said.

(Given the current situation on the continent, reclaiming the land that was lost ten years ago is a matter of utmost importance for each country. I would like to ask Solminati Academy for further cooperation in the future.)

"In other words, they want me to abolish this school as soon as possible and send the students out as soldiers."

Jihad raised his hands in disgust. His indignation could be felt in the words he said as he spat.

"But the last Abyss Grief case has been settled. The fact that they brought this up is ......"

"It's probably just harassment. It's also possible that they're trying to limit our actions by mentioning it."

It seemed like they were pointing out the other party's faults, so they might be able to use it as a bargaining chip for later negotiations.

(I warned you back then!)

Perhaps, they wanted to use it as one of their cards to blame the other party if something similar happened in the future.

Frankly, though, the vindictiveness and nastiness that filled every corner of the letter were quite unsightly.

"What are we going to do?"

"If they just want to make a fuss, so be it. I can't forbid them from sending such a letter themselves. Just let them say what they want. However, I am curious about the reason why Mekria-dono came here. city. Just in case, we have to confirm what she's up to."

"I understand. Then, Jihad-dono, please continue."

After saying so, Inda then pointed to a large hole in the arena that was closed half way.

"...... you still want me to do it?"

"Yes, hurry up. We don't have much time before the afternoon classes start. We have work to do even after we finish closing the hole, so please hurry up."

What lied behind her polite words was a voice of a demon instructor that said, "Get on with it!"

There were no compromises whatsoever, just a one-sided order, and then the cleanup, known as civil engineering work, resumed.