Arcane Sniper

Chapter 933

Leeha, looking at Hyein, pointed at the crystal ball as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Hey, Hyein. That crystal ball―”

“Yes. Do you need it? I tried to give it to Ram Hwajung, but she said she already had her own crystal ball.”

“Ah, of course, Ram Hwajung must have recorded it too.”

Why wasn’t she here?

She had probably already reported to Bahamut. When Hyein gave him the recording from her crystal ball, Leeha took it and stood up from his seat.

Just before contacting Blaugrunn and heading to Bahamut’s lair, he contacted one more person.

―Prea?

―Yes.

The white-eyed spiritualist spoke in a slightly low voice. Leeha could roughly guess the reason.

―You saw it, right? Tiamat.

―Yes, that… was really…

The Tiamat recreated by the dark spirits was excessively vivid, and Prea, who visualized it with enough imagination, was quite shocked.

However, Leeha couldn’t leave her alone.

―So, I need to ask you a favor. I need you to use the dark spirits one more time.

―To see what Bluebeard, Tiamat, and the chromatic dragons are up to, right?

―Yes. If possible, could you find out when they plan to launch their attack as well as what they are doing?

―I will try.

The defense line could only be maintained for two weeks at most. Figuring out the timing of the attack was the top priority. If they planned to launch their attack three weeks later, activating the defense line now would be pointless.

Prea quickly responded to Leeha’s words.

After hearing her confirmation, Leeha went to meet Blaugrunn.

* * *

“Tiamat… looked like this…”

Blaugrunn couldn’t take his eyes off the image.

Leeha, however, was more concerned with Bahamut’s expression than Blaugrunn’s.

Likely because he had already heard about it from Ram Hwajung and Arzenmacht, Bahamut’s expression remained rather static.

“As large as the Lord may be, this… is…”

Tiamat possessed an imposing presence that surpassed even Bahamut. Blaugrunn couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, but Leeha fully understood what he wanted to convey.

Bahamut simply wore a bitter smile.

‘I’ve only seen its true form through hallucination, but…’

Bahamut, with his radiant appearance, presented an unparalleled beauty comparable to the majesty of nature. His perfectly balanced wings and body, coupled with his enormous size, moved without disruption.

His quiet, serene existence alone exuded a certain sanctity.

But Tiamat?

Its form seemed to transcend the concept of a creature or an existence in this world. It was grotesque, constantly writhing and contorting itself.

Although size wasn’t always an indicator of power, Bahamut wasn’t even 20% the size of Tiamat.

Could this be the terror possessed by a cosmic entity?

Just revealing itself left a more powerful impression than Bahamut.

The video was still in progress, and the atmosphere was quite serious. Leeha felt that he had to make a remark to break the tension.

“At least it seems that Onyx has lost any reason to act up.”

“Huh? Why is that, Ha Leeha-nim?”

“Well… Tiamat is so overwhelming that even Blaugrunn is mesmerized. The breath shown in this video – I’m not even sure you can call it a breath – what’s coming out of the six mouths is that intense? Onyx wouldn’t dare to claim the throne of the Chromatic Dragons anymore.”

“T-that’s true. Even if Onyx tried, it looks like any one of Tiamat’s six heads could swallow him whole with just a single gulp.”

The elder of the Chromatic Dragons, Onyx, had departed to the new continent along with all the Chromatic Dragons of the Lope continent.

Currently, the complaint “We can’t conduct raids. Where did all the dragons go?” was running rampant due to the absence of the Chromatic Dragons.

Leeha and Bahamut had believed that Onyx did such a thing “to prove his strength.”

They had thought that since Tiamat was still incomplete, if Onyx could show he was strong enough to subdue Tiamat, it might be possible to prevent such events in the future.

“Exactly. No matter how greedy Onyx is – ha, challenging that creature is akin to a suicide mission… Sigh, though I don’t find much comfort in saying that.”

Leeha tried to smile, but it didn’t come.

Even if Onyx charged in, he would only become ‘a mouthful’ for Tiamat.

Then what about himself?

From now on, he and the users had to join forces to kill that thing?

“Still, isn’t it fortunate?”

“What?”

It was then that Bahamut, who had been listening to the not-so-funny jokes between Leeha and Blaugrunn, spoke up.

“If Tiamat were in a normal state… no one who recorded this video would still be alive.”

“You mean to say if Tiamat were in a normal state, no one would survive?”

At Leeha’s question, Bahamut nodded.

It wasn’t an unreasonable statement. In reality, the Chromatic Dragons had only started to counterattack, and Tiamat merely breathed once.

The fortress that was ‘brushed’ by that breath collapsed nearly completely but wasn’t utterly obliterated.

It was just spewed out randomly from the writhing six mouths.

Moreover, after that, there were no attacks that could be called proper attacks.

‘Is it really that strong?’

Ram Hwajung, with added magic on top of the breath of two Red Dragons, could withstand for a significant amount of time.

In his ‘Dinosaurization’ state, Kijung had become strong enough to bat away most dragon magic.

Other users also had their own hidden skills.

Adding all those wouldn’t make it impossible, but…

Bahamut, as if knowing what Leeha was thinking, spoke.

“That thrashing is her agony. I sensed that she was incomplete because of her suffering. She wants to rampage freely but cannot. My, what a strange thing.”

Bahamut stared at the video intently. Leeha thought as he listened to him.

“Why is she suffering?”

“I don’t know. Maybe her pain is what makes her incomplete, or maybe being born incomplete causes that pain. But one thing is certain.”

Bahamut turned his head from the video to Leeha.

Leeha had a hunch about what Bahamut was going to say.

“That… is her weakness.”

“Exactly. Sending her back to her rest is only possible through her weakness. Of course… I, too, will have to step up.”

Bahamut seemed determined.

Listening to his words, Blaugrunn jumped up.

“L-Lord! No, you can’t. Your old wounds have not healed yet! And if you move, what about Bluebeard?! The entrance to Peklo City will be fully exposed―”

“Isn’t there Zelreja, Blaugrunn? Le also wouldn’t forsake Tiamat… Perhaps my stepping in to deal with Tiamat is the only way to tie Le to the continent across the sea. If Le and Ghibrid do not step in directly, Zelreja and Curpqque should be able to handle it.”

Leeha had heard that one of the dragons who blocked Bluebeard’s path to Peklo City was Curpqque, the Ancient Copper Dragon.

The master of debuffs, the Copper Dragon, and the Steel Dragon, who exhibited strength above the level of an Ancient-class in close combat.

If those two were holding the line, certainly not many could break through, except Bluebeard or Ghibrid.

“And Blaugrunn, don’t you think you will have achieved your wish by then?”

“What?”

“You too will gain enough strength from the battle with the Chromatic Dragons.”

“Exactly! I will stake my life to protect the Lord.”

“Ha, my life is in your hands! Hahaha!”

Bahamut laughed heartily while looking at Blaugrunn.

Leeha also displayed an awkward smile, trying to forcibly dispel his current anxiety.

‘It’s not impossible.’

All the Chromatic Dragons were already on the New Continent.

It was certain that Onyx would not be able to rebel against Tiamat, and thus, they would come with their full power. Naturally, it was the job of the Metal Dragons to block them.

A battle between the Metal Dragons and the Chromatic Dragons.

Leeha suddenly felt an uneasy feeling, like a shrimp caught between two fighting whales.

However, there were times when one had to move, even if it meant getting hurt.

“Then… Ha Leeha.”

“Yes, lord.”

“Can you predict when Tiamat and the others will start moving?”

“I am trying.”

“Hmm. In the meantime, we are holding off Peklo City. When they move… contact us immediately.”

Leeha nodded his head.

What Leeha had learned from meeting Bahamut was one, that Tiamat’s incompleteness and 〈Suffering〉 were related, and that they needed to find something to exploit that.

The other was the rough direction of the battle and the growth Blaugrunn would gain after the fight.

Bahamut had given an even more blatant hint than before.

How would Blaugrunn turn out after this battle? Of course, the most important point was to ‘survive’.

‘A battle where Bahamut himself called it a desperate fight… will take place.’

Survival was the key.

Tiamat’s resurrection would present a completely different battle scenario compared to when the Demon King’s Fragment had awoken.

Leeha felt it instinctively.

The closest comparison would be the complete resurrection of Tonn during the subjugation of the Demon’s den.

‘There will be tremendous sacrifices, right?’

Sacrifices had to be prepared. The problem was whether they could achieve victory after such sacrifices.

If it was all sacrifice and then defeat, it would be the end.

“Haha… this is interesting.”

“What? Ha Leeha? What is?”

“Even at this moment, seeing this scene, there must be someone out there who is nervous.”

“Who? Me?”

Leeha looked up at the empty ceiling of Bahamut’s lair.

What was the GM thinking?

“Phew… Okay. We don’t have much time anyway. Let’s start preparing right away.”

“Preparing?”

“Yes. If we want to give Tiamat a proper blow… we can’t do it at our current level. Then let’s get going, Bahamut!”

Leeha grabbed the crystal ball.

Blaugrunn, not knowing the reason, held tightly onto the hem of Leeha’s shirt.

Bahamut waved his hand, watching Leeha.

The place where his missing arm should have been, his clothes fluttered.

* * *

While Leeha and the members of the 〈Sacred Alliance〉 were finishing their defense line and moving frantically to prepare for Tiamat’s invasion, a strange confrontation was continuing beyond the central part of the New Continent.

“… I saw the video, but I never imagined it. Why?”

Faust furrowed his eyebrows.

The white scales of the Lizardia glistened.

The target Faust was glaring at simply looked at him with eyes full of curiosity, seemingly unaware of his discomfort.

“Wow~ What’s going on here? Faust, why did you turn white again? Where did that—awesome leopard pattern from before go? What was it called—Deathbringer! Is that job over? Job cancellation? Is that even possible? What about your achievements or increased stats? Skills?”

“… Answer my questions, Lark. And—Dame Shin Nara of the Sacred Knights.”

Faust pointed at the two with a bone wand.