Chapter 78: The Legacy and the Dragon's Attack

78 - The Legacy and the Dragon's Attack

A wall surrounded the city of Levantes. And on that wall, many soldiers busily rushed around.

They were in groups of a few people each, and each group was setting up and maintaining a giant crossbow.

Not only soldiers were on the walls.

There were people who didn't have a uniform like the soldiers; they instead wore whatever equipment suited them best. Of course, these were the beast-hunters.

These hunters were among the better ones who lived in Levantes. And even among the better beast-hunters, only the ones with long-ranged capabilities were here.

They were also on the walls, maintaining their prefered ranged weapon and sharpening their ammo.

While the wall was a literal wall that would block the incoming dragon, it was also where the fight would happen.

The reserve fighters who weren't placed on the wall were lying in wait in the streets if the dragon broke through the defences on the wall.

However, if the event of the walls falling did happen, the last defenders in the city would have troubles in fighting a flying creature.

Indeed, the walls were the last line of defence. And on that last line of defence was Tatsumi and his three other party members.

Vast plains spread before Tatsumi's eyes.

These were the fields that surrounded Levantes, usually used for farming purposes.

Young crops could be seen sprouting in the farmlands, but there was no sign of farmers tending to the crops.

They were all now evacuating from the city. The only sign of life in the fields was the dozens of pig-like creatures dotting the landscape.

"......So those are this world's pigs. First time I've seen them," Tatsumi murmured, looking down from the city walls.

These were the animals that this world called a "pig." They, however, were unlike what Tatsumi was used to.

They were similar to a rodent. Just a rodent that was larger than Earth's pig.

"...It's like a capybara. No, it's bigger than that."

Like Tatsumi said, it was a little similar to a capybara. The pseudo-capybara pig was the main source of meat for the Kingdom of Largofiely.

There weren't any animals that were similar to cows in the country.

There were a cluster of pigs gathered in a pen that was a little separated from the walls. These were, of course, the dragon's bait.

The giant crossbows, magic, and bows would be aimed at the dragon from atop the walls when it descends to eat the bait. This was the first stage of the plan.

Jadokh's sight was pointed at the same place Tatsumi's was: the pigs. "...I wish this would be all it takes to kill it."

In his hands was an especially large longbow. It was called "Lyurn's Strength," and it was from Giuseppe's treasury.

"Strength" was in the bow's name, and only a powerful man could fire it. But with twice the number of arms of a human, Jadokh could shoot it easily.

Aim with two arms, and fire with the other two. It was the first bow that Jadokh could use with his full strength and could penetrate the scales of the dragon just by virtue of its insane draw weight.

Moreover, the arrows for this longbow were made with a special metal. These arrows could only be shot by Lyurn's Strength itself.

This time, Miloulle was focused on helping Jadokh. She was a short-ranged mage with a spear as her main weapon; the dragon was not her best opponent.

She had a quiver mounted on her back, which was filled with the longbow's exclusive arrows.

"Well, after the first plan fails, good luck!"

Who else would clap Tatsumi's shoulder while talking but Bugarank?

The Sun God's Patriarch was here to support Tatsumi. His recovery magic was on par with the Holy Maiden, as one could see.

"By the way, Tatsumi, do you think that you can use the Amaryllis in real combat?"

The "Amaryllis" that Bugarank was speaking about was the legacy of the Grand Mage on Tatsumi's right arm. For some reason, the Grand Mage's legacy was given such an unsuiting name.1

A day before the dragon's attack.

The legacy of Thiet Zamui resting in the Church of Golaiva. Tatsumi had just used his teleportation to equip it.

And at that moment, a pleasant shing came from the chains of the gauntlet as they fell, creating a sea of gold by Tatsumi's feet.

"I see. So you use teleportation to directly equip it. It seems so simple now that I know the answer," Bugarank commented.

Giuseppe also gave his input, "But, that also means that you can't wear the gauntlet without a teleportation magic. There have certainly been nobody else to have worn the gauntlet since Thiet's death," he paused before asking Tatsumi, "So, how is it, son-in-law? The problem of the chains is solved, but is the weapon talking to you?"

Of course, Giuseppe wasn't asking if the gauntlet was actually talking to Tatsumi.

"...Yes. There was something the gauntlet told me, but...it didn't tell me how to use it."

"Hm? Then, what did you learn?"

Tatsumi's troubled look was clear.

"This────weapon's name."

"The...name?"

"This is the main weapon of the Grand Mage, yet its name is a mystery. So? What is it?"

Tatsumi was troubled once again by Bugarank's question, but he still chose to reveal the name.

"......Uh, Amaryllis...I think?"

"Hmmm, 'Amarilys'? It sounds cute, but I've never heard of it."

"Same. What does Amarilys even mean?"

It seemed that the two patriarches had no knowledge in otherworldly botany. That's to be expected as even the translator has never heard of this particular flower. I bet the author had to google it too.

Either it's more common in Japan than America, or Tatsumi was just really into gardening, but he somehow knew of the flower.

──Could it be? The previous heaven mage, Thiet Zamui...was a flower nerd from Tatsumi's world too?

That was Tatsumi's guess. He could be like Eru, from Earth.

There was another question. Why would Theit Zamui name his weapon after a flower?

Was there a special meaning to it?2 Was it named that just because it sounded nice? Maybe the Amaryllis was his favorite flower?

But, now was not the time to worry about such trivialities.

The dragon was the most important matter. They could discuss the particular naming of the gauntlet at a latter day.

Wanting more answers, Tatsumi put his concentration onto the weapon on his right arm.

Yet, there was nothing.

Bugarank had just asked Tatsumi if he thought he could use it in real combat. Tatsumi looked down at his right arm.

Currently, the chain was wrapped around Amaryllis again.

The chain was taken off before, but it was put back on. That was also yesterday.

"...No...knowledge of the way to use it..."

Tatsumi had told Giuseppe that he didn't know how to use it.

"Oh...could the chains be used for something else besides sealing it?"

Giuseppe turned to the pile of chains by Tatsumi's feet.

The chains did not completely unravel from the gauntlet; there was a strand still linked to the main part of the weapon.

"The chain would completely fall off if it was a seal. But it didn't. That means it has a meaning."

"You're saying that the chain is the weapon like I thought?"

Tatsumi tried unraveling the chains piled at his feet.

The chains clinked as Tatsumi straightened them out. It looked like they were about seven or eight meters in total length.3

And then, a cone-shaped weight on the other end of the chain, the end that wasn't attached to the gauntlet, was revealed.

"Our guess was right. The chain is used for something else."

Bugarank looked at what was in Tatsumi's palm. The weight's length was about the same size as Tatsumi's index finger. The thickness was almost the same as its length.

"There might be a weight, but the question is on how to use it."

Saying that, Tatsumi thought of the kusari-fundo4 that he had seen in some historical dramas. People would hold the handle and spin the chain then BAM! Someone died.

Of course, the chain was too thin and the anchor at the end was too small. Above all, the chain was too long.

A weapon with an eight-meter chain and a tiny weight is very hard to wield.

"First off, we can't even fully spread out the chain in this small room. How 'bout we go to somewhere with more space?"

Giuseppe's suggestion was logical. The four quickly moved into a different place with space to try out the weapon.

"...It'll be kinda hard to move with all the chain dragging on the floor."

No matter how thin it was, a chain of that length would be nothing but a hindrance.

──For now, I guess I'll rewind the chains.

Just when Tatsumi had that thought. The chains suddenly started to roll up and twine themselves onto the gauntlet.

"...tf?"

Giuseppe looked at Amaryllis with a sharp glare, and Tatsumi's face twitched.

They tested the phenomenon that happened earlier and confirmed that Tatsumi's thoughts could twine and untwine the chains from the gauntlet.

Even so, that ability was the only one Tatsumi could use. Whether or not there were any other special abilities remained a mystery.

In fact, the other three present also tried on the gauntlet, but nothing more was learned. The gauntlet did not respond to them─not even the name was told.

From that, the two patriarches concluded that the gauntlet only reacted to the a Heaven-system mage.

In the end, Tatsumi went home without learning more about Amaryllis.

Tatsumi could still use the gauntlet, although not to its full potential. However, a hidden skill might reveal itself in the battlefield.

The two patriarchs made that conclusion, and the other two present had nowhere near as much knowledge and wisdom to disagree.

The couple discussed the matter when they both were home, but they both stood atop the wall today without knowing anything more.

It happened when Tatsumi was reminiscing about yesterday.

"I-It's here!!! The dragon!!"

A voice from atop a guard tower announced the start of the fight.

All the people on the wall stopped in their tracks and faced the sky.

As soon as they looked in the direction the dragon was coming from, a black dot became visible. And the dot was only becoming bigger.

"Looks like it's comin' in."

Bugarank let out a bloodthirsty smile and clapped.

"All warriors! Prepare yourselves!"

Taülorde's voice resounded through the city walls. He had been appointed as the supreme commander of all forces in the capital and was now in one of the guard towers.

Both soldiers and hunters alike rushed to their positions, following Taülorde's words.

The dragon continued to fly closer as the final preparations were made.

The figure of the dragon could be seen from Tatsumi's eyes.

A tough black exoskeleton covered the entirety of the dragon's body, except for the two huge transparent wings.

It had a slender body, and half of it could be described as a tail. But, its entire body was at least ten meters, perhaps even fifteen.

Under the dragon's body hung six legs. They were quite small in comparison, and might be the reason why this particular type of dragon was sometimes called a "flying dragon."

The dragon's head wasn't actually that large. But, that head sported two huge eyes that took up most of the space in the head.

Those eyes, normally black, were dyed in an ominous crimson.

"T-That's...a dragon...?"

"Yes. 'The King of the Skies,' 'Ruler of the Heavens'5...that which has no rivals in the air is that dragon."

Calcedonia was completely serious. The dragon could only be a terrifying opponent.

She held Tatsumi's hand tightly in hers without knowing. The dragon truly brought fear to her.

But.

But, without Calcedonia realizing, Tatsumi's mouth was hanging open.

The approaching dragon was not like the one he'd imagined. Instead, it was very familiar to him.

"That's...the...dragon...?"

Tatsumi repeated his words. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

And of course he couldn't. Because────

"............................................................A dragonfly?"

He did not expect for the otherworldly dragon, a being which stood at the peak of this world's strength, would be this kind of dragon. A dragonfly.