Chapter 83: Eris and Rudeus (Patreon)

Eris lay beside him...

She noticed a change in Rudeus's breathing.

Curiosity made her open her eyes.

In the dark, she studied him quietly. "Rudeus, what are you laughing about?"

Rudeus smiled. "A certain sulky Dragon God—

—right now, he's probably off pestering Ghislaine for news about me."

Eris grinned too, thinking back over everything they'd been through.

At first, Dragon God Orsted had scared her half to death. But the more she'd gotten to know him, the less frightening he'd become—maybe partly because Rudeus had beaten him down. By now, Dragon God Orsted didn't seem so terrifying in her eyes anymore.

"Rudeus, do you think the Dragon God will join our group?"

"Sure, why wouldn't he?" Rudeus said, gently squeezing her hand.

He smiled. "Honestly, his hatred for Hitogami runs incredibly deep. Put it this way—if someone killed your family, wouldn't you hate that person more than anything?"

Eris nodded without hesitation. "Of course I would!"

"So that's exactly the situation Dragon God Orsted is in," Rudeus said. "Who knows how many years of hatred have hardened into an obsession inside him."

"And given that, even though I gave him a proper beating, the moment I told him I meant to get revenge on Hitogami, something in him started to waver."

"He still hasn't chosen to join us, but the real reason isn't the beating—it's that he still doesn't know for sure whether I'm one of Hitogami's tools. Once he's certain I'm truly Hitogami's enemy, he'll fall in line."

Eris nodded in understanding. "So that's how it is."

Rudeus smiled. "Yeah. At first I was hoping to make him an ally outright. But the more I got to know him, the more I realized the Dragon God's just... sulky."

"He's also incredibly indecisive. Once he's been beaten, his pride takes a massive hit, and that messes with a head that wasn't great at clear thinking to begin with. His thoughts get tangled up easily."

"So for now, my plan is just to have the Dragon God protect my family. As for the rest—I can handle it myself. It's not like it's actually impossible."

"Take Dragon God Orsted, for instance. Did you ever think I could beat him?"

Eris shook her head, gripping his hand tighter. "The legends about Dragon God Orsted were terrifying enough on their own," she said softly. "And after actually meeting him, his presence was even more frightening! If you hadn't been there, I don't think I'd have had the courage to even face him swinging that blade."

In the dark, Rudeus watched her serious expression.

He smiled. "Same for me. If my strength hadn't reached that level, I definitely wouldn't have provoked something like him."

"Honestly, before the fight I wasn't all that confident myself. In case I couldn't beat him, I'd already braced myself to keep fighting him over and over through regression."

"But I never imagined it would go the way it did. I'd barely started, and he just stopped resisting. At one point I nearly killed him."

Eris asked curiously, "Rudeus, just how strong are you, really?"

Rudeus shook his head. "I don't usually fight battles I'm not prepared for, so honestly, I'm not entirely sure of my own strength."

"But I do know that if I actually wanted to fight Hitogami, what I've got now still wouldn't be quite enough. Taking on his apostles, though, wouldn't be a problem."

Eris asked curiously, "Then what level would you need to reach?"

Rudeus smiled. "Right now I'm in a state of nuclear fusion. The next step after that is understanding the mystery of how a planet's magnetic field turns."

"Using my own small magnetic field to connect with and adapt to the planet's vast one, until I can merge into it as casually as breathing—gathering the power of the entire earth into myself alone. Once I reach that point, I'll basically be ready to go pick a fight with Hitogami!"

"Uh..." Eris said, looking dazed. "That's a little hard to follow—way too complicated. It sounds impressive, but could you explain it more simply?"

Rudeus nodded and smiled. "Simply put... you can think of it this way. I already have enough power inside me right now. I just don't have a good enough way to release it."

"So I need to find a better method to let that power out."

Eris seemed to get the gist of it. "So basically, the power you already hold—you just can't put it to full use yet. Is that it?"

Rudeus nodded. "Right, that's basically it."

Eris nodded, her hand gripping his even tighter. Rudeus, already this powerful, still hadn't fully mastered his own strength. Meanwhile, she could already feel her own progress faltering.

Her cultivation, which had once leapt forward by leaps and bounds, had slowed to a crawl. Her body was probably nearing its limit.

Sensing the girl's mood had dimmed a little, Rudeus asked with a smile, "What are you worried about?"

"N-nothing."

"Are you afraid you won't be able to keep up with me, and that I'll give up on you?"

"...Yeah."

"Do you want to get stronger?"

"I do!!" She nodded firmly.

Eris, full of anticipation, asked, "Do you have a way?"

Rudeus smiled. "Leave it to me..."

"Mm..."

Just as Eris finished nodding eagerly in agreement, she suddenly found herself swept up into his arms.

"Eh!?"

"W-what are you doing?"