Chapter 113: Paul's Shocked Awakening (Patreon)

At the start, during acceleration, Aisha and Norn were both in obvious agony.

That was exactly why Rudeus stopped pushing the speed higher.

As the airship settled at roughly ten times the speed of sound, and with the pressure-reducing magic he had cast inside the cabin, the two children finally began to recover. They slumped, drained, into Lilia's and Vierra's arms.

Seeing that, Rudeus relaxed. He turned to Dragon God Orsted and asked…

"How is it? Can you handle steering at this speed?"

"No problem. Leave it to me when the time comes."

Dragon God Orsted nodded seriously.

Rudeus smiled. "Then I'll be counting on you."

"Of course. But this hull…?" Dragon God Orsted said.

"I'll keep the hull reinforced the whole time," Rudeus said with a smile. "You don't need to worry about that. Unless we slam into a mountain, my hull won't have any problems at all."

"Good," Dragon God Orsted said with a nod.

With that, he stopped asking questions. He closed his eyes quietly and began probing along with Rudeus using wind-element magic, getting a feel for the controls and the situation first. That way, when the time came to actually pilot, nothing would go wrong.

Rudeus, of course, could sense Dragon God Orsted's mana. He simply let him feel his way through it, while he steered the teardrop-shaped airship and kept an eye on everyone inside. If anything unexpected happened, he would act immediately.

As for mana consumption, now that he had the energy-gathering ring inside his body, he had nothing to fear. His mental strength, however, was being drained continuously, and he hadn't yet found a good way to restore it.

So that was why he could only pilot for half a day. Dragon God Orsted would take over the other half. Rudeus wouldn't hollow himself out completely. He'd keep ninety-five percent of his mental reserves, as insurance against any accident.

As the airship flew smoothly on, everyone's bodies adapted quickly. Little by little, the discomfort faded, and it was no longer as bad as it had been at the start.

Curious, they all kept scanning their surroundings. But unfortunately…

At ten times the speed of sound, everything around them was an unreadable blur. Even the lovely sea of clouds had turned hopelessly smeared.

If you stared straight ahead, you could make out a fair amount. But at that speed, your reactions sped up involuntarily, and after a while your eyes and head would begin to ache terribly. Before long, people simply closed their eyes to rest.

Only Eris and Ghislaine seemed to have found a new way to grow stronger. Faces flushed with excitement, they fought to overcome the dizziness.

They were like swordsmen moving at extreme speed, training their brains to anticipate. They were thinking fast, trying to work out how best to attack and dodge at such velocity.

Sadly… ten times the speed of sound was simply too fast!!!

After barely an hour, the two gave up, one after the other. Drenched in sweat, they closed their eyes and quietly set about recovering.

Roxy, watching this, couldn't help being startled.

"Rudeus, does everyone always have to work this hard?"

"Didn't you say before that Hitogami can hardly do anything to us anymore?"

At Roxy's question, Paul and the others suddenly snapped their eyes wide.

Hitogami!!??

What's going on!?

It can't be that legendary being, can it!?

Rudeus just smiled. "Until it's confirmed, until it's actually dealt with, anything is possible.

To raise our odds of killing Hitogami, and to make them more certain, I, the Dragon God, Eris, Nanahoshi Shizuka and Ghislaine are all working very hard and pushing forward without rest. We keep building up our strength, preparing to kill Hitogami!!"

Rudeus had already explained to Roxy how fearsome Hitogami was, so she knew full well. But after they met again, she'd heard Rudeus say little about Hitogami's power. He had even indicated that Hitogami probably couldn't do much to him anymore. Roxy had naturally assumed that Rudeus held the key to a sure victory.

Now, though… she recalled how hard everyone had trained all along the road. Roxy nodded, fully understanding. She decided she would start working hard too, to help Rudeus however she could!!

But the exchange left Paul, beside them, uneasy. "Rudeus…

The Hitogami you two just mentioned, is that the legendary Hitogami I'm thinking of?"

Rudeus nodded and smiled at Paul. "Yes, you've got it right.

Our true enemy is the one from the legends… the oldest and most powerful, the one true god who has never been heard to fall!!"

"Hiss!!!!"

Paul gasped, sucking in a cold breath. Lilia, who knew how formidable that being was, and Vierra trembled uncontrollably.

They couldn't imagine it… Rudeus's true enemy was really that one!!!

That was Hitogami!!! The one true god who had never fallen, from ancient times to the present!!!

And he was really going to make a being like that his enemy…

Their first reaction was an involuntary suspicion that Rudeus had gone mad!!??

Paul, on the other hand, took several big gulps of air. Then, without meaning to, his gaze drifted to Dragon God Orsted, who sat with his eyes closed, resting. A guess had begun to form in his mind.

He opened his mouth and asked, his voice trembling slightly, "Lord Dragon God, is he…"

Before Paul could finish, Rudeus smiled and cut in. "That's right. The Dragon God's father was the First Dragon God!!

But long ago, Hitogami schemed and plotted and had him murdered. So he's a reliable comrade who, like me, has made Hitogami his enemy!"

"Hiss!!!"

Hearing this, Paul, Lilia and Vierra were stunned all over again. But at the same time, they finally understood why Dragon God Orsted could be so overwhelming!!

So he was the child of the First Dragon God himself!!!

Then… if Dragon God Orsted's feud with Hitogami came from the murder of his father, what had made Rudeus an enemy of Hitogami!??

Thinking that, Paul couldn't hold back and asked, "Rudeus, can you tell us your reason?"