Chapter 35: A Miracle with a Single Draw
Ren and Erza's expressions also changed drastically upon hearing this.
Magic Dragon Alazam. This was the name on their S-Class Quest. This was their target.
"How... how could this be..." The King's voice trembled, his face ashen. He stumbled back a step, his eyes wide with a terror that surpassed even the 100,000-beast tide. "This guy... he shouldn't still be sealed? Why is he out?! The seal wasn't supposed to break for another year!"
The King was in a full-blown panic. His entire plan had been predicated on this fact. After this assembly, he was going to organize the kingdom's strongest experts, armed with their one trump card, to hunt down the Magic Dragon while it was still weakened by its seal.
But now, the opponent had actually broken free. Judging by his arrogant demeanor and the casual way he'd dispatched the Unicorn Blood Ape, he seemed to have been out for some time. If his strength had fully recovered... this was a catastrophe for the Kingdom of Sobelia.
"Magic Dragon? Alazam?"
At this moment, almost all the swordsmen and soldiers below the city wall were utterly confused. They had just won a brutal victory and were catching their breath. They didn't know the legend of this purple-haired man, and... "Dragon"? Weren't those just mythical creatures from storybooks?
The King, his voice tight with dread, stared intently at the purple-haired youth. He knew he had to make his people understand the stakes.
His voice was grave as he explained, "Magic Dragon Alazam is a dark legend of our kingdom. He is a genuine Giant Dragon from 400 years ago. He committed countless evil deeds, burning cities and devouring thousands, until he was finally sealed by the founder of our kingdom, Sword Saint Noah. I... I never thought he would break free from that seal now."
"A... a Giant Dragon?!!"
The words sent a jolt of pure, primal fear through the crowd. They looked from the King to the slender, purple-haired youth, their minds struggling to connect the two.
The purple-haired youth, Alazam, simply raised an eyebrow, a mocking smirk on his face. He waved a single finger back and forth. "No, no, no, little king. You said one thing wrong."
He pointed at himself. "I wasn't sealed by mere humans. Don't flatter yourselves; your Sword Saint Noah was just an annoying gnat."
Alazam's expression darkened for a split second, a flicker of ancient hatred in his reptilian eyes. "I was sealed by the Sealed Dragon, Selis. That human... that 'Saint' of yours... he merely lent a hand at the very end when I was already bound."
The King gritted his teeth, forcing himself to remain calm. "Mr. Alazam, since a Giant Dragon sealed you, this grudge should have nothing to do with us. Sword Saint Noah has been dead for hundreds of years. You have no chance to take revenge on him."
If his goal before was to strike while the iron was hot, his only goal now was to de-escalate, to avoid conflict at any cost.
"You're right," Alazam said with a disturbingly playful expression, "I can't take revenge on that long-dead human. But..." His grin widened, showing inhumanly sharp teeth. "Taking revenge on his country? On his legacy? On all his little descendants... that's still fine, isn't it?"
He then added, his voice dropping to a casual, conversational tone, "Besides... I absolutely love eating humans."
The purple-haired youth licked his lips slowly. His eerie, glowing gaze swept over the crowd of soldiers. It wasn't the gaze of a man looking at enemies; it was the gaze of a predator looking at a buffet.
Everyone who met that gaze, even for a second, immediately felt a cold chill shoot up their spine and involuntarily shivered. This was not a man. This was a monster.
"Judgment of Light!!!"
Arthur, his face pale but resolute, refused to be cowed. He raised his longsword with both hands, pouring every last drop of his magic power into it. Powerful, holy-golden energy emanated from his body, converging on the blade until it formed a massive, twenty-meter-long sword of pure golden light.
"Magic Dragon! Die!!!"
Arthur roared, swinging the colossal sword down at the Magic Dragon with all his might. The massive light sword descended like a judgment from heaven, cleaving the air itself.
The purple-haired youth stood still, unmoving. He didn't even bother to raise his arms.
The massive light sword struck Alazam's head.
Booooom—!
Crack—!
There was no explosion. The sword of light simply... stopped. It hit Alazam's forehead and halted as if it had struck an indestructible wall.
Alazam hadn't even broken the skin.
But Arthur's light sword, having hit something impossibly hard, began to spiderweb with cracks.
Then, Bang—!
The massive light sword, Arthur's ultimate technique, shattered into a million motes of golden light.
Arthur's pupils constricted, his expression frozen in pure disbelief. "What...?!"
"This guy... he actually withstood Sir Arthur's ultimate skill... with his head?!" Clay shouted, horrified.
The purple-haired youth bared his teeth, looking at Arthur with that same playful, mocking gaze. "What are you doing? Are you trying to give me a head massage, human?"
Crackle crackle!!
Clay, seeing his rival's attack fail, grit his teeth and took a low stance. Dazzling golden lightning enveloped his entire body.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
[Akarin's Note: Thunderclap and Flash (Hekireki Issen) is a sword technique from the Demon Slayer series, originating from the Thunder Breathing style. It involves channeling all of one's power into the legs to dash forward at blinding speed for a single, perfect strike.]
Boom—!
Clay burst out with his fastest possible speed, vanishing in a yellow-gold streak. He reappeared instantly behind Alazam, his blade having precisely slashed towards the dragon's neck.
Crack—!
The purple-haired youth still hadn't moved. But the sword in Clay's hand, a masterwork of steel, had snapped in two. The blade fell harmlessly to the ground.
Clay stared at the broken hilt in his hand, his expression matching Arthur's disbelief. "It... it broke? My sword... broke on his skin?"
"Re-equip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!!"
Erza was not so easily deterred. In a flash of blue light, she was clad in her winged armor, and a magic circle appeared behind her.
"Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt!!"
[Akarin's Note: Blumenblatt (German for "Flower Blade") is one of Erza's Heaven's Wheel techniques. She summons a massive number of swords and launches them at her opponent in a high-speed, scattered barrage.]
Hundreds of longswords materialized in the air, forming a swirling vortex of steel around her. With a sharp gesture, she sent them all hurtling toward the purple-haired youth.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!
The continuous, rapid-fire impact of hundreds of swords stirred up a massive cloud of smoke and dust, obscuring Alazam from view.
"How is it?" Allen whispered, his hands shaking.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on the smoke, a desperate, fading hope in their hearts.
Soon, the smoke dispersed.
The purple-haired youth still stood there, completely unharmed. His purple clothes didn't even have a speck of dust on them.
Clap... clap... clap!
The purple-haired youth slowly clapped his hands, his mocking smile wider than ever. "Good! Good! Human magic is still so interesting. All your struggling efforts, your little desperate moves... they excite me, too."
"Th-this... how is this possible?!"
"Why are the attacks of several 9-Star Swordsmen completely ineffective against this guy?!"
Everyone was terrified at this moment. The strongest ultimate moves of their champions, the heroes of the kingdom, were useless. They couldn't even scratch him. How could this be?
The King's voice, grim and steady, rang out, "Because he is a Dragon. Dragons are born with impenetrable bodies and extremely strong resistance to human magic. Their scales are harder than any known substance. Human magic can hardly harm Giant Dragons, which is why in ancient times, any single Giant Dragon could easily destroy an entire country."
"Your Majesty!"
The soldiers shouted in alarm. At some point, the King had appeared below the city wall, walking past his defeated knights to stand before the dragon.
"Oh? You know quite a lot, little king!" Alazam chuckled.
"Mr. Alazam," the King said, his voice now devoid of fear, replaced by a cold resolution. "Sword Saint Noah is an ancient person from 400 years ago. His grievances with you have passed. The people of today have no grievances with you. I beg you, please be lenient."
The purple-haired youth bared his teeth and chuckled. "It seems you still haven't grasped the main point! I don't care about revenge. I just love eating people, and humans are incredibly delicious."
Clang—!
The King drew his longsword. It was a beautiful, ornate blade, but the moment it was unsheathed, flames immediately ignited along its edge, and a strange, powerful magic aura pulsed from it.
"This sword..." Erza's eyes widened. She could feel the unique magic radiating from it.
"Mr. Alazam, if you don't retreat, then I will fight you even if it costs me my life," the King declared, his voice booming with royal authority. "Even if I can't slay you, I will gravely injure you!"
The purple-haired youth's playful expression paused when he saw the sword in the King's hand. He tilted his head, curious.
But then, he threw his head back and burst into boisterous, echoing laughter.
"Hahahahaha!! Hahahaha!!"
The King's expression turned gloomy. "What are you laughing at?!"
The purple-haired youth laughed so hard he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. "Hahaha~! I'm laughing at you, haha! You're betting everything on that? Do you... do you really think a sword made from a Dragon Slayer Magic Lacrima can contend with a true Giant Dragon?"
[Akarin's Note: Dragon Slayer Magic Lacrima is a magic item in Fairy Tail. It's a crystal orb containing Dragon Slayer Magic, which can be implanted into a person to grant them that magic (making them a "Second Generation Dragon Slayer") or, in this case, forged into a weapon.]
"Naive!! How incredibly naive!! Hahaha!!"
"Let alone a pathetic sword made from a Lacrima," Alazam sneered, "even if a true Dragon Slayer... or even another Giant Dragon... were to revive, what could they do to me?!"
The purple-haired youth mercilessly mocked the King.
But the King was not one to be intimidated. Since peaceful negotiation was ineffective, then he only had one option: to fight.
"Die!!!"
The King stomped his foot, shattering the stone beneath him, and, holding his flaming Dragon-Slaying Sword, he lunged toward the purple-haired youth.
Alazam simply raised his hand casually, palm-out.
Clang!
The longsword, burning with dragon-slaying fire, struck the purple-haired youth's palm and stopped dead. The flames licked at his skin, which remained unharmed.
"What?!" The King's eyes shot wide with shock.
"See?" Alazam whispered, his smile chilling. "Besides a Dragon Slayer Mage who has cultivated Dragon Slayer Magic to an extremely high level, or perhaps an intermediate or upper-level Giant Dragon... threats like that can pose a problem for me. But humans like you... no matter how many... cannot harm me."
Crack—!!
The purple-haired youth clenched his hand. The Dragon-Slaying Sword, which the King had spent a fortune and the nation's entire treasury to forge, shattered into a dozen pieces.
"How... how could this be?!"
The King was in disbelief. He hadn't expected his ultimate trump card, the kingdom's only hope, to be nothing but a joke in the eyes of a true Giant Dragon.
Slap!
Before the King could even react, the purple-haired youth's hand shot out and grabbed his neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
"Release His Majesty!"
Erza, Arthur, and Clay, seeing the King captured, forced their aching bodies to move. They immediately rushed forward to stop him, their weapons broken but their spirits defiant.
As a result, the purple-haired youth, still holding the King with one hand, casually waved his other hand.
"Insects."
A massive, purple claw mark made of pure magic energy swept across.
"Ugh, ah ah ah!"
"Wah ah ah ah!"
The attack struck all of them. The sheer force sent them flying, their armor shattering. They crashed into the rubble, unmoving. With just one casual attack, more than half of the kingdom's strongest fighters had lost their capability to fight.
Erza, Arthur, Clay, and the other 9-Star Swordsmen were all gravely injured, their bodies broken, and no longer had the strength to even stand.
"Damn it!"
From the city wall, Ren's expression was incredibly grim. He hadn't expected the Giant Dragon to truly break its seal and be this overwhelmingly powerful.
At this point, having already gone through the monster tide war and his Cero Oscuras, his own magic power was nearly depleted. Almost everyone on their side was without the strength to fight. And even if they had it, it was clear that facing a Giant Dragon, no matter how many people were sent, it would be futile.
Now was the time for him to make a decision.
He had two gold cards. As long as he recycled one of them, the provided magic power would be immense. It should significantly increase his strength, perhaps enough to fight, or at least escape.
But which one to give up?
He looked at his character panel. Ulquiorra, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
[Akarin's Note: Ulquiorra Cifer (from Bleach) and Yoriichi Tsugikuni (from Demon Slayer) are the two "gold cards" Ren has drawn from his system. Both represent immense, but very different, forms of power.]
In terms of pure energy level and destructive power, Ulquiorra was far stronger than Yoriichi Tsugikuni. But only those who had truly received Yoriichi's inheritance knew how terrifying that man's "skill" truly was.
Most importantly, he was extremely reluctant to give up either of them; these were gold cards! The pinnacle of the gacha! Recycling one felt like cutting off a limb.
But there was no time left. Alazam was still holding the King, a sadistic smile on his face as he seemed to be savoring the monarch's choking terror. If the King died, Ren's S-Class Quest would fail, and his losses would be even greater.
Ren grit his teeth, his finger hovering over the 'Recycle' button for his Yoriichi Tsugikuni card.
Just as Ren was about to click it...
Suddenly! A system notification, crisp and clear, appeared in his mind.
[Ding! Detected that the host has been transmigrated for exactly one month. Granting one (1) monthly gacha chance!]
[Proceed with gacha?]
Ren was stunned for a fraction of a second, then quickly realized what it was. It was the system's monthly gacha gift!
His heart hammered in his chest. 'Gacha, gacha, gacha!' he screamed internally.
Although he didn't have his Goddess's Blessing (Lucy) right now for better luck, the current situation didn't allow him to think that much. This was his only shot.
The gacha animation appeared on the system panel, a familiar spinning wheel of light. A dazzling star fell from the sky.
Ren's eyes widened, staring at the system panel in utter disbelief. He had been expecting a white or blue light...
"P-p-purple?!"
"It's purple?!"
[Akarin Note:
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