Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no 'Kokoro'-

Chapter 7.7

Spinning vision and floating feeling as if floating on water.

Looking at the countless white lines running in front of him again, Nozomu prepared himself for the impact that was sure to follow.

However, what followed was somewhat different from what Nozomu had expected.

The countless white lines, which had been flowing in one direction, changed direction and began to fly around in his field of vision at random.

"Eh? Something’s wrong. The atmosphere seems different from before..."

At the same time, Nozomu’s vision began to flicker erratically as if inside a sandstorm, and he began to hear a ringing sound in his ears.

The next moment, a sudden shock hit Nozomu’s entire body.

"W-what happened!?"

The speed of the fall increases rapidly, pulling Nozomu’s body downward

The irregular flicker intervals became shorter and the ringing in his ears gradually became stronger.

"Uwaa!"

A scream came out from Nozomu’s mouth due to the sudden change in speed.

The wind that was hitting against his entire body was even beginning to cause pain in his body.

Nozomu gritted his teeth desperately and continued to endure the pain, but he was even more transfixed by the numerous sights that passed by like shooting stars.

Scenes that looked like they had been cut out of a picture frame crossed Nozomu’s path.

The growing figure of Tiamat. The young dragon gradually grew beautiful scales and wings along with her friends.

Tiamat and Mikael cuddled under a night sky full of stars, and numerous species gathered at the feet of the two dragons. And the steadily growing cityscape.

Even without knowing the details, it was easy to sense that the two dragons were doing well.

However, that thought was completely negated the next moment.

A shock ran on Nozomu’s body which had been falling.

"Guu!"

He checked his body with a distorted expression due to the intense pain running through his body, but his limbs were still able to move properly.

He could feel the ground in front of his body. It seemed that he fell on his stomach.

"What the hell happened......"

While enduring the pain in every knot in his body, Nozomu sat up and was astonished.

A devastated land spread out before Nozomu’s eyes.

There was no trace of a single grass or even an insect that could be seen on the smoky earth, and in several places, red-hot glass-like crystals stood out like icicles.

Here and there, ruins made of stones were strewn about, and the carcasses of charred creatures emitted a foul smell that stung the nose.

Thick clouds swirled in the sky, and a thunder-like screeching tore through the atmosphere.

And above all, what caught Nozomu’s eye was the sight of a lone black dragon standing in the ruins.

No, it was hardly a black dragon anymore.

Scales were peeling off here and there all over its body, and the blood that had flowed out was running like a red river on the earth.

And at the feet of the dragon lie four torn dragons.

A yellow dragon with countless holes in its body, a green dragon with its neck twisted in a strange direction, a red dragon that exploded from the inside, and a blue dragon whose entire body was burned to a crisp.

Particles of light were dancing from their corpses and flowing into Tiamat, who stood stunned.

And on the back of the black dragon standing in the wilderness of death, six distorted wings had already sprouted.

"Ugh~..."

Nozomu desperately suppressed the nausea that welled up in him due to the sight of the gruesome scene.

The dragons lying at Tiamat’s feet were undoubtedly Tiamat’s friends.

"If this is Tiamat’s memory, what the hell happened ..."

Aside from Nozomu’s agitation, Tiamat screamed in anguish.

(Gugugu, ga~aa......)

An unclear voice leaked out of the black dragon’s mouth.

While gritting its teeth, Tiamat looked up to the sky with its eyes wide open.

Its sword-mountain-like rows of teeth were bared, and its clouded-white eyeballs glared up at the sky.

(W-why ...)

Mixed in with the rain, a single blood-red drop flowed down from Tiamat’s eyes.

The sound of the rain drowned out the empty voice that leaked out, and it faded away without reaching anyone.

The scene was filled with sadness and emptiness. But the next moment, Tiamat’s face was once again distorted with pain.

(Gugigigigi !!)

Tiamat’s entire body stiffened while exuding the five-colored light.

The swirling particles of light began to pulsate and rampaged erratically.

At the same time, new blood gushed from the wound, and the dragon’s entire body was once again stained black.

Tiamat was thrashing around in extreme pain. Every time the dragon’s huge body flailed about, the crystals growing on the ground shattered.

(Tet ......)

Amidst the scattered crystals, Mikael flew in front of Tiamat.

His body, covered in pure white dragon scales, shone brilliantly in the scattered crystals.

(Mika-el ...?)

Tiamat muttered Mikael’s name as she clung to him.

The color of relief and reason returned to her eyes as she confirmed the sight of her beloved partner.

But then Mikael’s indignant gaze pierced her.

(What, what have you done! Do you have any idea what you just did !?)

(No, you’re wrong ... I wanted to see you again. But, Regnant and the others didn’t listen to me. They didn’t let me through. I... I was...)

(Then what are those wings! Why are those wings growing on you!)

Mikael’s sharp gaze was directed at the new four-colored wings growing on Tiamat’s back.

The corpses of his friends scattered at his feet spoke eloquently of what had happened here.

But Nozom noticed that the conversation between Tiamat and Mikael was not quite on the same page.

Mikael was trembling with anger, and Tiamat wass trying desperately to convey something.

(Mikael, please listen. Listen to my story. Please ...)

(Listen to your story!? You want me to listen to the one who killed Oru and the others like nothing happened!?)

Mikael was furious and Tiamat desperately tried to convey her words. However, Mikael, who was trembling with anger, couldn’t hear her voice.

The conversation between them did not mesh with each other and kept slipping out of sync.

At that moment, Tiamat’s eyes widened. Upon closer inspection, she could see a white feather ornament on Mikael’s ear.

The earrings were covered with gold in several places, just like the skin of a white dragon, a mystical earring.

Tiamat’s eyes, which should have been filled with relief, turned to the color of despair.

(Mikael, as I thought, that was a lie ... You said we’d be together forever...)

(Lie !? How can you say such a thing after killing Oru and the others, and after destroying our precious place!? Aren’t you the one who broke your promise first!?)

The deadly words pierced deep into Tiamat’s chest and drilled a fatal hole in her psyche.

(A, aaaaa!)

(Kuh~ !?)

With a scream, five colors of power were explosively released from Tiamat’s body.

Mikael was blown away by the different colored power striking him but managed to regain his posture by spreading his wings.

Tiamat, on the other hand, who had just released an intense force, changed her posture. She dropped to her knees and fell silent as if dead.

At that moment, a dignified voice echoed around the area.

(That’s enough, Tiamat.)

Mikael responded to the voice and looked around to see more than a dozen dragons surrounding him.

All six species of dragons, with scales that were thicker and older than Mikael’s, were swarming around the place.

Among them, six old dragons, which seemed to be the oldest, stepped forward. They were probably the heads of their clans.

All of them were uniformly stunned and glaring at Tiamat.

(Everyone, everyone. Deceiving me, lying to me...)

(I’m surprised. I didn’t think she still had an ego left in such a state...)

The old white dragon’s eyes widen at the sight of Tiamat.

As a spirit species, dragons are inherently dyed in the color of the attribute they oversee, so they are unable to inherit power from dragon species other than their own kind.

If they were to take other elements in, the elements of the different sources interfere with each other in their own body, and as a result, it is normal for the body, including the soul, to disintegrate.

Of course, if they were in such pain, there was no way they could retain any sense of self.

However, the black dragon in front of them barely maintains consciousness while taking in four different kinds of power.

(But it won’t be long anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to kill her now?)

(Why should I! Why should I show such mercy to the one who kills my son! Let her body rot in agony, and let her whole soul perish!)

(But if we leave it as it is, the power this little girl has taken in will be released to the surroundings. If that happens, the damage won’t be comparable to what it is now.)

One of the yellow dragons suggested killing her on the spot, but an enraged red dragon interrupted.

The blue dragon complained so that he could enjoy the red dragon who was about to lose himself in anger.

While the discussion about Tiamat’s punishment was going on all over the place, Tiamat rolled over and spewed vindictive words in a lisping tone.

(How dare you, how dare ...)

In the midst of all this, an old white dragon stepped forward.

Among the dragons that surrounded Tiamat, this old dragon had an overwhelming appearance.

The years he had accumulated couldn’t be compared to any others, let alone Tiamat or Mikael.

Perhaps being struck by the presence of the old dragon, the other dragons, who had just been engaged in a heated discussion, all shut their mouths in unison.

(Mikael, step aside.)

(Father......)

(...We can’t let this girl live now that this has happened. I will use my secret arts to crush this girl’s soul and return her body and soul to the world. She may be the dragon that killed your friends, but you wouldn’t be able to kill her. Now stay back.)

The old dragon, whom Mikael called his father, took one look at Tiamat as he let his young son back down.

(Gugugu ...... Gi, gigi ......)

(I didn’t see this coming ... I feel sorry for you, and I can’t help but sympathize with you, but ...... forgive me."

For a moment, the color of emotion dwelled inside the old dragon’s eyes. But Nozomu could not guess the emotion in his eyes.

Was it anger, pity, or grief? Was there something more? The old dragon had too many emotions in its eyes.

The old dragon looked up to the sky and opened its mouth.

A tsunami of white elements erupted from the old dragon’s body.

The enormous amount of erupted elements converged in a whirlpool and set the aim of the attack on the poor black dragon.

At that moment, Tiamat, who had been facing down, suddenly raised her head.

Her gaze, stained with hatred, turned to the dragons dancing in the sky above.

Her eyes were stained red like blood. Five-colored mud wriggled in the pupils at the center of her eyes.

(Storm of Destruction ...)

(What !?)

"This is......!"

As if in response to Tiamat’s hatred, five colors of light converge on the dragon’s body.

Just as the elements gather, Tiamat’s feet were scraped off and the atmosphere began to scream.

The next moment, an explosive and violent storm of destruction was released.

(Muu!)

(Aaaaaa!)

The old dragon unleashed his full strength in the face of the storm of destruction coming at him.

The moment the two collided, an explosion of six-colored light engulfed all of Nozomu’s vision.

Nozomu involuntarily held out his hand, but even the light leaking through the gap between his fingers burned his retinas violently.

"Don’t look!"

In the extreme light that consumed everything, Nozomu heard Tiamat’s cries in his ears.

The next moment, the sensation of being burned all over the body was suddenly lost.

"~! This place is ..."

He opened his eyes, frowning at the pain running through his body.

There were still flickering sparks in his vision, but Nozomu understood where he was standing.

Hardened vegetation and dark gray earth.

Nozomu had returned to that glassy meadow three times.

However, unlike before, a shimmering, blazing flame was now standing on the ground in front of him. Perhaps this was the place he had been aiming for.

And a huge mountain-like body spread its six wings and looked down at Nozomu with a stunned expression.

"You ... how did you get in here!"

"Who knows. I found myself here when I realized it, so I don’t know how."

Tiamat’s shouted due to the appearance of Nozomu at this place.

Nozomu himself was inwardly surprised, but he remained calm, holding back the surprise that swirled in his heart.

Both of them remained silent. Only the sound of crackling fire sparks dominated the meadow.

It was the intruder, Nozomu, who opened his mouth first.

"Are those ... your past?..."

While gulping down his spit and exhaling heavily, Nozomu slowly asked Tiamat.

The hostility from Tiamat grew even stronger.

"Disgusting ... Humans, dragons, everything!"

"... Humans? Were humans involved in that scene?"

Tiamat raised her eyebrows at Nozomu’s words, and then she snorted roughly.

"Did you see only a part of my memory? You are as thievish as ever..."

"You are......"

The light of disgust in Tiamat’s eyes. Nozomu felt a sense of recognition at the color.

But before Nozomu could speak, Tiamat raised her giant tree-like paw.

Nozomu moved his feet and leaped backward as fast as he could.

The giant dragon’s paw struck the burning glassy grasslands, and a shockwave traveling across the ground knocked Nozomu, the grass, and trees down.

"Kuh ... Wait! Why are you going to take revenge ...!"

While being pushed by the shockwave, Nozomu managed to a defensive posture and regain his posture.

However, Tiamat quickly spread her wings and generated countless light bullets in the air. She shot the light bullets all at once towards the enemy in front of her.

"Damn it! At least listen to me!"

Tiamat, who would not listen to him, also ignored Nozomu’s complaint and tore the chains that bound her.

In an instant, Nozomu focused his power that filled his entire body into his legs and leaped forward. With light bullets landing one after another behind him, he closed the gap with Tiamat at once.

He reached for the mouth of the sheath he carried and drew his katana. At the same time, the Qi-blade that was enveloping the katana bared its fangs towards Tiamat.

"It’s useless!"

However, it still could not cut through Tiamat’s tough scales. Nozomu’s [Phantom] was bounced off the surface of the scales, and the scattered particles of Qi flew through the air.

Tiamat, as if to counterattack, swung her tree-like tail towards Nozomu.

But Nozomu had already prepared for that. He had been beaten up so many times in his dreams. He understood long ago that his long-range attacks would not work at all.

"Fuh~!"

Nozomu closed the distance with Tiamat at once while leaping and dodging the approaching Tiamat’s tail.

His aim was Tiamat’s long neck.

The dragon just turned around to swing its tail. Taking this opportunity, Nozomu closed the gap at once and slashed directly with his katana.

However, just as Nozomu was about to swing his katana, a powerful impact hit him from the side.

"Gah!"

The shock was so great that air leaked from Nozomu’s lungs, followed by his body being slammed on the ground.

What the heck.........

Before Nozomu could even come up with an answer to his question, a powerful chill assaulted him.

"~ !?"

The hairs on his body stood at once, and Nozomu threw himself to the side without thinking twice. Squeezing his arms and Qi as hard as he could, he tried to get as far away from the place as possible.

Then a further shock hit him.

"~~!"

The ground was crushed along with the impact, and Nozomu’s body was thrown into the air.

In his hazy vision, Nozomu’s eyes were caught Tiamat’s tail, which had been driven deeply into the ground.

"Did you think I couldn’t read that level of thinking!"

The initial strike by Tiamat’s tail was simply a decoy. It swung out like a cleave, restricting Nozomu’s action, and intercepted the defenseless Nozomu in mid-air with a return blow. She then attempted to finish him off with a downward strike.

Tiamat inwardly clicked her tongue as Nozomu dodged the finishing blow,

but due to his reckless evasion, Nozomu couldn’t stand up yet, leaving him with so many gaps.

"Destroy him! Along with that abominable chain!"

A huge mass of flame appeared in Tiamat’s mouth.

Nozomu finally managed to stand up, although his whole body was numb from the blow he just received.

However, it was already too late to evade.

Tiamat shot the flame of chaos.

"Kuu! Ooooo!"

While shouting his fighting spirit, he swung his katana downwards.

A huge blade of Qi dived into Tiamat’s mass of flames. The Qi blade was one-sidedly canceled out.

But even so, Nozomu did not look away from the mass of flame that loomed in front of him.

A ripple spread in front of his eyes.

And just as it seemed that the mass of scorching heat was about to engulf his body, his vision went dark and his body vanished from that place.

======================================

When his darkened vision regained its color, Nozomu’s eyes were met with a pure white ceiling.

"Where am I?"

Nozomu sat up, his thoughts were still hazy.

The only things he could see around him were the same inorganic white walls, which were the same as the ceiling, and a vase of flowers on a table beside him. In addition, there was not even a window on the wall.

"That was ... Ouch ..."

The sadness, hatred, despair, and rage of Tiamat that he just saw. That was definitely the dragon’s past.

Remembering Tiamat’s past, Nozomu felt a tingle deep in his chest.

However, he could not find an answer even if he thought about it now.

For the time being, Nozomu shook his head and tried to get off the bed. At that moment, Nozomu noticed a strange sensation.

"Hmm?"

There was nothing around that would allow water to get in, but he felt the bed cover under his hands was a bit damp.

"Wet. And also..."

When he gently touched his lips, a somewhat relaxing aroma tickled his nose. It strangely tightened Nozomu’s heart.

"More importantly, I need to get out of here ... Ouch~! My body is aching."

Putting the water marks on the bed cover and the lingering scent on his lips that clung to his heart out of the corner of his mind for the moment, Nozomu tried to get up from the bed.

However, after being bedridden for days, his body became completely stiff and he let out a painful scream.

Nozomu slowly crawled out of bed, teary-eyed from the pain that had suddenly shot throughout his body.

"But still, where am I? It’s not Norn-sensei’s house, and it doesn’t look like the school infirmary..."

As Nozomu tilted his head, the door to the hospital room was opened with a rattling noise.

Entering the room was a female doctor with a medical record in her hand.

She entered the hospital room with an angry look on her face, and her eyes widened when she saw Nozomu getting up.

""A~""

Their gazes crossed and their voices overlapped.

They looked at each other with stunned faces for a while, but Nozomu greeted her first.

"H-hello, good morning?"

As Nozomu tilted his head, the female doctor approached him and pushed him back onto the bed.

"Gue!"

Unintentionally, extra strength was put into his arms, and Nozomu let out a cry of anguish.

"U-umm. What the hell ..."

"Just keep quiet! First, I’ll contact Jihad-sensei ....... No, should I do a full examination first?"

While the female doctor was bewildered by the sudden awakening of her comatose patient, Nozomu was confused, not understanding what was going on.

"......E, eh?"

"Hey! Someone, please come here!"

Nozomu tried to get a word out of the female doctor who was calling for someone with a raised voice, but he was ignored and left alone.

Nozomu, still stunned, heard footsteps approaching. He turned his attention to the hospital room door to see what was going on and saw a military police officer in full armor jump in through the door of the room.

"Watch this kid for a while so he doesn’t wander off! I’ll contact Jihad-sensei before preparing for the examination!"

In a coarse tone of voice, the female doctor told the military police officer to watch over Nozomu, and then she rushed out of the room in a panic.

Watching the door slam loudly shut, Nozomu could do nothing but stare in amazement at the scene before him.

"W-what’s going on?"

"You still don’t understand your situation, do you?"

"Y-yes, I just woke up ..."

The military police officer approached the stunned-looking Nozomu and briefly told him the situation.

"Ah, right. Actually, you’ve been bedridden for nearly two weeks."

"Two weeks !?"

"Yeah, you’ve been in a coma for a while. As for how this happened, I don’t know. ......"

From what he heard, this military police officer seemed to know very little about Nozomu’s situation.

What happened to Lisa and Ken? Are Iris and the others alright? What happened to that demon beast?

Various worries were going through Nozomu’s mind.

He was tempted to ask the military police officer for his opinion, but he was afraid to speak out because of the sensitive nature of the matter.

As Nozomu pondered for a while with his hand on his chin, he heard rough footsteps coming from the corridor again.

"Hmm? Are they back already?"

The sound of footsteps that were even noisier than those of the military police earlier, echoed up to Nozomu’s hospital room.

Nozomu wondered if the doctor had returned, but his eyes widened at the sight before him.

"Nozomu!"

"I-... Iris !? And also... Tima-san?"

Standing at the entrance of the hospital room were a classmate with glossy black hair and her best friend. For some reason, the girl’s eyes, bright red and clear, were aimed straight at Nozomu.

"Umm, good morning? I don’t know if it’s morning or not, but ...... bube!"

Nozomu, who thought Iris was going to get angry and throw things at him again, involuntarily braced himself after he saw her appearance.

The next moment, however, a curtain of black hair suddenly spread out before his eyes.

A fierce impact then hit Nozomu’s body, and at the same time, he was enveloped by the soft feeling.

"Dowaa~! I-, Iris. What, what is it!? What are you doing!?"

Nozomu was in a state of confusion when he hurriedly caught Irisdina, who jumped on him.

Irisdina hugged Nozomu with all her strength, regardless of his agitation.

Nozomu was squeezed, suffocated, and struck by the soft sensation. He did not know whether to be happy or not.

"Uu... Hic~ ..."

"... Iris, are you crying?"

However, Nozomu’s agitation was drowned out by Irisdina’s sobs.

Nozomu’s hand naturally patted her head.

She looked like a frightened little girl, so different from her usual dignified appearance that even Nozomu was at a loss for words.

At that moment, the door of the hospital room was slammed open roughly for the third time.

"Haa, haa, Nozomu-kun !?"

The next person who rushed into the hospital room was Shīna.

She was breathing roughly and her cheeks were burning bright red as if she had come in a hurry.

"Ah, Shīna. Good morning ... Gue!"

Then a second impact hit Nozomu.

Nozomu screamed again at Shīna, who jumped on him as soon as she entered the room.

"Wha, both of you! We’re going to fall!"

Using his weakened abdominal muscles, Nozomu managed to catch them both. However, he was about to fall backwards because the weight on him had increased all at once.

With just one more push, this precarious balance would be broken at once. As if foreseeing Nozomu’s anxiety, a voice as cute as a kitten echoed in the hospital room.

"Nozomu-san!"

The third person who rushed to the hospital room was a young angel. Her jet-black eyes, much like her older sister’s, were moist and staring straight at Nozomu.

The girl sniffed with emotion and ran toward Nozomu at once.

"Somia-chan, wait a minute!"

Nozomu hurriedly urged Somia, who was running toward him at full speed, to stop, but Somia did not seem to hear him at all.

"Nozomu-sa~n!"

A leap, then a crash.

Nozomu’s body, which had managed to maintain its balance, suddenly tilted, and in the face of desperate resistance, four bodies tumbled off the bed.

"Uwaa!"

"Kyaa!"

Nozomu fell on his back with a thud, but with the added weight of three more people and the impact of his lungs being punched out, he was unable to breathe.

The bed cover that Nozomu was using also flipped over, covering the four of them.

"Kyaa! It’s pitch black!"

"N~n~! Wha, where are you touching !?"

"Nozomu, Nozomu ...!"

"E-, everyone. Calm down ... please. I can’t... breathe ......."

Three girls flailing in the dark while Nozomu writhing in agony. The gloomy atmosphere that had been confined in this hospital room since recently seemed to be a lie.

Somehow, the atmosphere was somewhat sweet and sour now.

"It’s nice to be young..."

The military police officer looked somewhat envious as the four of them made a lot of noises.