Vol 8 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Iris Freyja already understood Because it was about herself, she understood what had caused her own transformation
It henever she sought power Whenever she wanted to acquire and use stronger power than before
Long ago, she already had a feeling that using Catastrophe would speed up the changes in her body
However, for the sake of protecting her coe her teacher, she made full use of the power she had inherited from Basilisk
”Catastrophe—Actualiiiiiize!!”
Even without using the zooigantic body, not sie size but also due to the fact that her own vision had improved
The red flash of light struck as intended, weathering away the shi+eld of mithril
Also, she are that the more she used Catastrophe, the more the hardened parts of her skin—the areas covered by red scales—would spread
It felt so scary, so repulsive
But her attack must not stop
—Because this is the one thing I can do!!
She used her total power, striking down Kraken Zhich had escaped into the air, to crash on the ground
But that was already her liht vanished from her hand
”!”
Alrin
'Don't worry, Iris'
His gentle voice spoke from the communicator
”Mononobe?”
'The rest—leave it all to me'
Leaving these words behind, he headed , but—
'Urgh Ahhhhhhhhhh!?'
After a while, what she heard was a mournful cry that made her want to cover up her ears It was his scream
”Mononobe!? What happened? Mononbe, answer me!!”
Although she cried out desperately, there was no response Was the communicator broken? Or he did not have the leisure to answer?
But all she kneas that someone important—so—was in a crisis
Iris Freyja's sniping location was a cliff with excellent visibility where Firill had transported her It was quite far away fro
Unable to fly, it was impossible for her to head to the rescue immediately
Indeed—Precisely because it was impossible, she wished for neer
—Even though she knew clearly that it would turn herself into so further from human
Part 2
—Unable to move
UsingKraken Zwei
Paralyzed by dae and pain, my body could not respond towould still be impossible
”Everyone Hurry and run The farther the better”
I called to them over the communicator
But all I could hear was static Lisa and the others had not responded after getting attacked by antimatter Iris did not answer either The earlier impact seemed to have broken the h
Lisa, Firill, Tia and Iris, the four of them had been positioned far away in the area to snipe shi+noiven instructions for us to flee if the operation failed I could only hope that the girls would follow instructions if they were safe and sound
What I wished to see least of all was everyone turning into a dragon
Standing as the second-generation hybrid dragon, the girl spread ribbons woven fro at me with her purple eyes
Whether using anti me would be effortless, but she did not do that I wondered why then realized—
The girl was looking at on mark
Perhaps she was puzzled about why she could not mark me Perhaps she wanted to confirm the reason?
—Actually, I'd like someone to tell me too
I ht smile of wryness
But that look apparently angered her Kraken Zwei narrowed her eyes and shaped her silver ribbons into spears
I silently understood that she wanted to deliver the fatal blow toto concentrate in order to perform transmutation was beyond me
”Stop it!!”
However, just as she was about to unleash her rising killing intent, Jeanne pushed aside bushes and rushed over
Her blonde hair washer like that, my heart was filled with intense anxiety
Rushi+ng in under such circu suicide At this rate, Jeanne was going to follow in shi+nomiya-sensei's footsteps—
”Don't come over”
I desperately forced out a voice, but she did not retreat Instead, she raised the AT Nergal I had given her earlier and said:
”You stop it! Please remember me!!”
”Gururu!”
However, Kraken Zwei sienerated black particles of dark s
”What—”
A sudden gush of raging wind blew Jeanne into the forest Like when she had flew into the sky, Kraken Zwei e amount of air
However, a weak flash of light cairl moved at the same time
Zzzzt!
The flash of electricity exploded in front of the girl Jeanne had al, but Kraken Zwei had used herher
”Even if you forgotyou Please think about your own happiness! The way you are right now Are you happy!?”
Jeanne's voice came from the forest
”Gahhhh!!”
However, the girl su it into wind this time, she made flames and shot them out
Iround Then Jeanne's voice vanished completely
”damn, it”
I could not do anything I gnashed rin at my uselessness
Glaring at Kraken Zho had looked back, I generated dark matter, but my hazy consciousness could not control properly and the darkin the air
I had no recourse My body could not move Even my mind could not muster resistance towards her
Confronted with ely like a beast
”———”
At thisout from extremely far away
I thought it was Jeanne, but no, the direction was off
I shi+fted aze upwards At the same time, Kraken Zwei also looked up at the sky
”————Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
Slicing out a red trail, so fell down By the tiirl toher doarda punch!
CLANG—
A sharp metallic noise resounded all around Iris' fist was blocked by ribbons woven from mithril hair
”Get away from Mononobe—Far away——!”
However, Iris' punch continued all the way until her arether with her shi+eld
Flying away in a spiral, the girl s tree violently
However, aze did not leave Iris who had landed before me
”Huff Huff”
Iris breathed heavily in disarray Her clothing had holes all over The jacket I was lending to her was all tattered She h quite a lot of hardshi+p to travel here
On Iris' exposed skin, hard red scales could be seen all over the place, having spread ht arm below the elboas completely covered by scales
If these scales were the same as Basilisk's, they would be ht fist, which she had used to punch Kraken Zwei, had shattered and was dripping blood
”Iris?”
I called her name hoarsely Iris immediately turned her head to look at me
Her eyes were crimson like rubies
”Don't worry, Mononobe”
She could not have failed to notice her changes, but even so, Iris still sonthat she was on now
”I said it before, right? No matter what happens, I'll protect you I absolutely won't let you die, Mononobe, so—”
Iris turned her gaze to Kraken Zwei
The girl was co punched far away The impact was probably absorbed entirely by the shi+eld woven from hair
”I will do everything as long as it's in my power Just like what you did for me, Mononobe!”
A flash of purple light Kraken Zas firing antimatter
However, this strongest spear, capable of ht
I did not knohat Iris had done because she had her back tored when she looked at ain—Then I understood
She was releasing Catastrophe directly from her eyes, just like Basilisk
Everything in her vieeathered into dust, but Kraken Zwei had apparently escaped the line of fire at the lastat us from a spot ten-odd meters away
However, her hair had become even shorter than before, probably erased due to Catastrophe's weathering
”Here I go”
Iris sround
”Iri—”
I felt an uneasiness in my heart Just as I called to stop her, Iris had already started a melee braith Kraken Zwei Her footspeed far surpassed that of nor so fast that the naked eye failed to capture the process
Iris' gradually rising physical abilities had already surpassed the human realm entirely
”Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Kraken Zwei roared and swung a spearof silver hair, but Iris slipped through an opening in the attack with astounding ht where her defense eak
”Catastrophe!!”
Iris fired tiht from her eyes
However, Kraken Zwei instantly wove her hair to deploy a shi+eld Powerful as it was, even Catastrophe could not weather ht was blocked
Kraken Zwei generated dark ain to create a silver shi+eld Once reinforced, the shi+eld withstood Iris' attack completely
”This is—still not enough”
Iris pulled away as a precaution against the eneathered in her hand was not red light but pitch-black dark matter
”Caduceus!”
The dark matter altered its form to become her fictional armament
However, the fictional arrew distorted while its surface turned red Increasing in size like a growing tree, it changed its shape ominously
”More More Give reatest firepower, the 'eye' that can unleash Catastrophe all at once—”
Iris murmured emphatically and raised her staff Her hand was already partially melded with the staff's shaft
Transenic transmutation!
I knew that Iris was currentlyCatastrophe's complete form
But that action would completely deviate froon
Stop now—
I clearly wanted to stop her, but hts could not reach her
”—Third Eye of Catastrophe!”
A gigantic red sphere sprouted from the front end of the transformed staff An eerie and sinister pupil opened up in the center of the sphere
”Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Kraken Zove her hair into a silver spear again Generating darkpurple in her eyes, she prepared to attack
She fired a deadly attack
”O catastrophe—Actualize!!”
At the same time, the ”Third Eye” sprouted froht!
This red would color all creation of this world with destruction
The green of forests, the blue of the sky, the silver ofbecame colored red only
I in apocalyptic scenery
A future where everything had weathered away into tiny particles
After the red light passed, the land was turned into a vast wasteland of yellow sand
Nothing with definite form remained
”Success?”
Iris stood as though leaning on her staff and looked around There were no signs of Kraken Zwei
”Mononobe—”
She faced me and smiled, but behind her, a tiny silver thread moved with a silver flash
”—!”
I did not even have the time to speak out
The silver flash bifurcated the ”Third Eye” on the end of the staff Out froushed out
”Where—!?”
Covered in a rain of blood, Iris looked around her Her neck and liled with silver threads
”Kyah!?”
The mithril threads suspended her in midair Iris screaround
The desertified ground surface swelled up, then Kraken Zwei reappeared, her body covered in silver threads
Most likely, she had burrowed deep underground to evade Iris' Catastrophe
”This, sort, of, level!”
Iris struggled while her eyes lit up with red light However, with her neck strangled tightly, the glow of Catastrophe dissipated
The resilient mithril threads went as far as to suppress Iris' superhu her of her freedom
crap—At this rate, Iris will
In e the situation despite knowing the crisis she was in
damn it Was there no solution? Some solution—
Anxiety and despair eroded my heart
Like when facingblow straight away Instead, she pulled the restrained Iris over to in front of her
”——”
After staring intently at Iris' left flank, the girl shredded Iris' already tattered jacket Exposed as a result was her skin that showed red scales all over as well as the dragon mark that had lost its color
What did she want—to do?
”Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Kraken Zwei covered Iris' dragon on lowed purple Iris' body convulsed
”Ahhh Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
As though responding to the girl's roar, Iris screamed as well
Originally recovered in color, Iris' dragon low faintly
”What”
I watched the scene in a daze The dragonpurple—Kraken Zwei's color
Iris was already close to a dragon Rather than being the targeted side, she was gradually turning into the side that targeted others However, Kraken Zas using brute force toto make Iris her mate
Out froed a different kind of fear from before
—She was going to be taken away
Iris So to be taken away
Throb—
My heart pounded intensely Sparks flew inside my brain
If Iris' dragon e into the sa her mate
She was currently headed for a place out of er stay by my side
Throb, throb—
As radually devoured by pure emotion
Forgetting anxiety, forgetting despair
Forgetting pain, forgetting sadness
Forgetting circu helplessnes
From an even deeper level than the ”Fafnir” sunken in the depths of ushed out from basic instinct
”Screw, this”
By the time I realized, I had already stood up
Feet that should not be able to round I stared at Kraken Zwei, the ene to take away someone dear to me
This e my body and soul, I knew its name
—Wrath
A rising surge of pure emotion, rooted in basic instinct
”Release Iris”
I slowly raised on mark felt hot
”Gururururu—”
Kraken Zwei faced on mark was already 80 consumed by purple
Wrong—she should not be marked by that kind of color
I won't let her be marked by that kind of color!
Because—
”Release her—She's mine”
Throb!
The instant I declared eon mark on my left hand