In the World of Midgar 99 — The Beast Country Draupnir (14)

꒰ঌ The Beast Country Draupnir 14

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Hakuyuki had but one wish, and it wasn't for glory, honor, or the victory of the grimmfolk. He was even willing to give up his own life for it. There was only one person he wanted to save. Just one person… As long as the girl he'd one-sidedly fallen in love with lived, he was happy.

That was why he'd proposed an exchange with the Grimm King. He'd promised the Grimm King the lifeblood, or possibly the entire body, of Draupnir's guardian dragon. The lifeblood of the guardian dragon held a large amount of mana in it, and it would increase the abilities of any creature that drank it. Hakuyuki knew that it was far too valuable for the Grimm King to ignore. Basically, it was what Lucifen would've referred to as a stat-boosting item, and it was one of the highest quality.

Of course, there was no way Hakuyuki would be able to win in a straight fight, but now it was different. A certain being had poisoned it with something that could not be removed, so the guardian dragon was eminently defeatable.

I can't… I can't lose. This isn't the time to be laid low by the hero! "I will win! Even if I have to sell my soul to a devil — no, a god!" Wendy's sword ripped through Hakuyuki's body.

Even if he tried to retaliate, the others would interfere, rendering his offense moot.

The spells Mitokado fired from the rear dealt a small but steady amount of damage, and any wounds Hakuyuki managed to deal were being healed almost immediately. It was an unwinnable battle against their numbers, no matter how superior he was to any of them individually. Added to that the fact that Hakuyuki was weakened by the terrain itself, he stood no chance, even if he was one of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory.

Also, the hero was more troublesome than Hakuyuki had expected. Normally, the Chosen class was a hidden one that could only be accessed after having mastered all three types of Warrior, as well as the Swordmaster class. Even one thousand years ago in the Age of Heroes, only one human had managed to reach this peak — Erza Belserion.

But the hero here had managed to start with that class. It was absurd! His level and his combat ability just didn't match up. Using Observing Eye, Hakuyuki knew that his level was under 40. Even so, his strength was already on par with the mercenary, Teuchi.

I can't win like this.

Even Hakuyuki, as one of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory, couldn't overturn this situation. So he made a wish to the one being he shouldn't. And a voice answered the question he asked in his heart.

"O weak puppet, do you desire strength?"

A beating sound like an excited heart rang in Hakuyuki's ears as something with a huge presence spoke to him. For a moment, an image popped up in the back of his mind: an otherworldly beauty with long, flowing carnelian red hair. She had a similar face to Orange's, who had once been his comrade, but the power of this woman was nowhere near comparable.

That was when Hakuyuki realized. Ah, it's her. She is our creator. No. Our caster.

"Hmph, so even my desperate struggles are nothing but theater for you, huh? Well, that's fine by me. I'll be your puppet. I'll become a bit part in your shit play. So Goddess! Give me power! Enough that I'll never lose to anyone!"

I think I can see her sneering with a chuckle. Yeah. She's laughing at me. She's looking down on me.

I know already. I'll never be able to go back if I do this, right? Hakuyuki instinctively knew that he was about to go down a path of no return. By discarding 'Hakuyuki the grimmfolk,' a completed spell, and creating a new one with power jacked up past eleven, he would no longer be Hakuyuki. He would just be a powerful Water spell.

Hakuyuki lost his form, melting into something like an amoeba. He could feel himself losing his own sense of self.

"All right."

Hakuyuki's body was filled with an amazing and terrifying amount of divine power. Everyone else's expressions froze upon seeing a grimmfolk emit a holy light that should have never been emitted from him. The sudden development exceeded their ability to process the situation. Hakuyuki's transformation was incredible. He lost his human form, melting into a liquid. On top of that, the water that he was made up of had clearly gained in volume, and the huge amount of water rushed forward like an avalanche, threatening to swallow up the hero and his group.

Wendy and Mitokado managed to react and put up a shield, but they didn't seem like they'd last long.

Fiona discarded her black robe and jumped forward. Covering her fist in flames, Fiona struck! Using massive strength that belied her appearance, Fiona struck the blob that used to be Hakuyuki with enough power to crack the earth.

But although Fiona's target was blown back, it wasn't hurt. Some of the water had evaporated, but it grew back very quickly.

"Huh? What? Wh-who?!"

Haru was confused by Fiona's sudden appearance, but Fiona herself had no time to answer. Fiona, immediately realizing that this battlefield was no good for her, shot flame bullets from her fists to melt the wall, creating a large hole. Then, she picked Wendy up and leapt out of the hole without even consulting her. Together, they escaped from the area.

"H-hey, isn't that the girl who was in Svel…?"

"The hell're you talkin' about, old man?! I'm not super sure what's goin' on, but we gotta make tracks too! This place is dangerous!"

Teuchi was surprised, since he'd seen Fiona once, but no one else had any idea what he was talking about. What they did understand was that the girl was clearly a different person than the man in black from the hunting festival, and that she'd probably somehow replaced him.

The rest of the group, except for Haru, hurried to escape from the hole Fiona had opened. Haru ran the opposite way, seeming to have noticed something. He ran and picked up a small bottle that'd fallen to the ground before following the rest out of the hole. Right afterward, the room completely filled with water, which started to engulf the sacred mountain itself.

Before that, Haru and the rest of the group slid down the mountain in an almost superhuman show of physical ability, regrouping with Pakkun, who hurried over to them.

"Wh-what happened, all of you?!"

"I don't know! Hakuyuki suddenly transformed…"

"Th-that's Hakuyuki?!"

Mitokado answered Pakkun's question roughly, clearly unable to get over his confusion, but it was only natural for him to have no idea what was going on. One of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory transforming was something without precedent. The mass of water didn't even have a shadow of Hakuyuki left now as it roared and continued to increase in volume. At this rate, it wouldn't just engulf the mountain, it would swallow all of Draupnir.

"Hey, Mitokado… What do we even do about this? There's no way my sword will work, will it?" Teuchi's gaze was far-off as he asked Mitokado, but he never expected an answer.

"E-even magic's useless on that thing, so don't ask me!"

Just as he had expected, Mitokado didn't, and everyone fell into silence. In the end, everyone's opinions were united. There's nothing we can do . That thing is just impossible for humans to deal with.

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