The Godking's Legacy Page 47

  “Having fun inspecting my ring?” the man in the sky asked.

  “Yes!”

  His face darkened. “Return my stuff to me and I won’t hold you accountable.”

  “Mrs. Wuffletush! Teach this man his place!”

  The man in the sky screamed as Mrs. Wuffletush pounced on him. The flimsy clothes he had borrowed were torn to shreds, and bloody scratch marks appeared all over his skin.

  “Mm, that’s enough. Good girl!”

  Mrs. Wuffletush puffed her chest out and then looked at the ring. Did she know what was inside? Divine beasts would definitely want to consume legendary beast cores to evolve, right? But I have to consume these too to break through to the legendary realm! Mm, I’ll consume them one at a time until I break through, then I’ll give her the rest. That should work. I’ll start right now! My dream is waiting for me to take it! What if I lose the ring in an unexpected accident? This is called being proactive!

  “Mrs. Wuffletush. Guard me as I break through. I’ll give you the remaining beast cores if you do. It only took me thirty-something divine beast cores to become a divine warrior. It should only take that much to become a legendary warrior. There’ll be plenty for you! Understand?”

  Mrs. Wuffletush nodded. It’s a good thing beasts are so loyal, unlike Snow! Even though I’ve only known Mrs. Wuffletush for a few hours, I feel completely at ease with her. Maybe it’s because we’re both squirrels. My instincts tell me she’s not going to betray me, and if I can’t trust myself, then who can I trust? “Durandal, Puppers. You two help as well.”

  “What about those four?” Durandal asked, pointing at the unconscious predators. Phew, I almost forgot about them.

  “I’ll breakthrough outside. They can’t talk after all. They won’t be able to chant ‘I’m gullible’ ten times to get out.” With that, I grabbed onto Mrs. Wuffletush and completed the nonsensical ceremony to leave the coliseum. Then I took out the legendary beast cores. “I’m starting!”

  ***

  Looking at Lucia stack legendary beast cores into the empty space in her lap when she crosses her legs just seems … wrong. “This isn’t right.”

  “What do you mean?” Gae Bulg asked. “You mean the way to exit the coliseum? It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with that chant. Maybe it’s the spinning around that does it. Or someone on the inside knows how it works and teleports Lucia outside when she’s done. Either way, I agree, it’s not right.”

  “No, it’s not that.” I don’t care about exiting or entering a space. “I mean the absorbing of beast cores. A martial artist should strive to breakthrough his bottlenecks via his own power: enlightenment, experience, effort. All of those should contribute to advancing to the next level. But Lucia…, Lucia’s using drugs loaded with impurities to forcibly enhance her body. It’s not right.”

  Gae Bulg shrugged. “Clearly she did something right,” he said. “Look at her; she’s a divine warrior. Neither Roland nor Cuchulainn broke through the wall on their own despite their experience and effort. She found a way when her predecessors couldn’t. So what if it’s using drugs?”

  “Think about it. If she advanced to divine warrior by consuming divine beast cores and she’s going to advance to legendary warrior by consuming legendary beast cores, what’s she going to do when she becomes bottlenecked at the peak of the legendary realm? She will always be behind in the world if she has to consume those higher than her to advance. She can’t blaze her own path to the pinnacle of martial arts if she relies on eating stronger beasts to get there.”

  Gae Bulg shrugged again. “Maybe her path won’t bring her to the peak, but if she continues growing at her current rate, she’ll get awfully close.” He shook his head. “Besides, she’s blessed with that body that’s loved by qi. She absorbs beast cores at a rate much faster than everyone else. I’m sure Roland would’ve consumed more beast cores if his body allowed him to.”

  “Maybe I’m just bitter.” Ah, the world’s truly unfair. Roland struggled at the peak of spirit warrior for a long time. When he couldn’t make any advancements, he dabbled in alchemy, enchantments, magic. He tried everything to break through, but died without being able to. And Lucia just whizzes by all her bottlenecks by cheating. If Roland saw her progress, he’d probably cry. Well, he wouldn’t. He’d definitely plot to kidnap Lucia and dissect her to figure out how she does it. …Am I sympathizing with Roland? After he locked me away for over a millennia? Something’s wrong with me. A weapon spirit has no need for empathy.

  “One dragon core,” Lucia said in a singsong voice. She picked up a core, and it dissolved into her hand. She reached into the pile and pulled out another core. “Two dragon cores.” She hummed and picked up another core. “Three dragon cores.”

  Gae Bulg turned to look at me. “You’re right. There’s something immoral about this,” he said. “I just can’t quite figure out what it is.”

  “Eight dragon cores,” Lucia said. Her eyelids were drooping, and her voice was slower than before. She picked up another core. “Err. Ten? No, that’s not right. Seven? Ah, that’s going backwards. Ten and three? Gah! Forget it, back to the start. One dragon core.” The core disappeared into her palm. …Did she forget how to count? Or did she not know in the first place? “Two dragon cores.” Her head bobbed down and up. “Three dragon … cores.” A line of drool appeared by the corner of her mouth. “Four … dragon … cores….”

  Is twelve cores her limit? That’s outrageous. A normal person can only consume one core at a time before needing to rest. And if it’s a core of a beast that’s stronger than them, then they can only wait for a longer period of time. But all Lucia has to deal with is a little drowsiness.

  “She’s going to explode,” Gae Bulg said with a frown. “I thought she was going to the last time she did something like this, but she didn’t. There’s no way her luck will hold out a second time.”

  “I think Lucia knows her limits. She won’t do something that’ll make herself explode.”

  “Gah! So tired!” Lucia sat up and pinched her cheeks before shaking her head. She pulled out a mug of hot chocolate and drank it in one gulp. “Phew. That was close. I almost passed out there. Where was I? A second set of eight cores consumed?” She stowed away the mug and grabbed a core. “Seventeen dragon cores.”

  She learned how to count again after drinking hot chocolate? Wait a minute. That mug had an inscription on it! “Gae, did you see the inscription on her cup?”

  “Yes,” Gae Bulg said. He gave me a strange look. What was that expression supposed to mean? Only I can look at others as if they’re idiots. “She sculpted that cup out of a divine beast’s bone and inscribed a focus inscription on it. You didn’t know?”

  “When did she do that!?”

  “I think you were monologuing to yourself inside of your weapon body when she did it,” Gae Bulg said. “She did it after the preliminary competition.”

  I need to pay more attention.

  “Twenty-five dragon cores.” Lucia’s head bobbed up and down again. A droplet of drool fell onto her leg. Her eyes closed for two seconds before opening again. “Gah!” She pulled out her mug with more hot chocolate inside of it. Well, would you look at that? It really is sculpted out of a divine beast’s bones. I wasn’t aware a bone engraving could work that way. “Ugh, this is a lot more difficult than I thought it’d be.” Lucia shook her head and grabbed another core. “Twenty-six dragon cores…. Ah, I give up.”

  She’s done?

  “I’ll just absorb sixty cores at once and be done with it.”

  What. “Wait! You’ll explode if you do that!”

  Lucia blinked at me while the cores in her lap disappeared at a rapid rate. “Well, that’s that,” she said. Then she fell over backwards and fainted.

  ***

  Like the last time I used cores to break through, this time I also had a bad dream where I was being chased by dozens of dragons instead of divine beasts. Surprisingly, dragons are easy to kill. You just have
to rip off their wings to prevent them from flying away, then their legs to prevent them from running, and finally their face to prevent them from biting you. I haven’t figured out how to stop their fire-breathing yet, but they usually die a few minutes after ripping off their faces. Though, I’m not quite at the level of the Godking where he could kill one in a single strike. But I’ll get there soon! Maybe after I break through to the legendary realm, which should happen after I wake up. Like now! …Any second now. All the dragons are dead. Hello? Don’t tell me I really exploded.

  “Ah, Lucia, you’re awake.”

  It’s Durandal! And I’m lying on his lap while staring up at his face. Mm, everything is right in the world: the sky is smoky, the trees are on fire, screams are filling the air. …The fuck happened while I was asleep? And why’s the ground wet? “Uh…”

  “Did you turn stupid?” Durandal tilted his head. He scratched my ears, causing shivers to run down my spine. “Better? Are you alright?”

  I didn’t want to leave the comfort of his lap, but I sat up anyway. What the heck was going on? Why’s Mrs. Wuffletush injured? And where’s Puppers? And Durandal’s missing half a leg!? His face is super pale too! “Durandal! What happened!? Why are we in a forest and not the city? How long was I out for?”

  Durandal exhaled. “It seems like you broke through to the legendary realm safely. That’s a lot of qi in your body. It feels endless—like I could get lost in it.” He smiled at me, staying seated because his leg was half-missing! Why is his leg half gone!? “While you were breaking through, Snow somehow managed to teleport a dragon into the city. Mrs. Wuffletush, Gae Bulg, and I barely got you out of there. Gae Bulg poisoned himself and jumped into the dragon’s mouth, saying that’s what Lucia would’ve done. What the heck was that about?” Durandal exhaled and closed his eyes. “Anyway, I’m going back into my weapon body to recover. I’m not going to tell you something unreasonable like fight the dragon. I’m already proud of you for reaching the legendary realm. But quite a few of your friends are still in the city with the dragon. If you don’t want to lose them…”

  Durandal smiled as his body disappeared and entered mini-DalDal. Mrs. Wuffletush looked at me and pawed at the ground. “Right, the left over cores.” Where did I put them? Here they are. “Will you evolve right away if you eat them?”

  Mrs. Wuffletush shook her head.

  “Then I’ll give them to you later. Right now, I have to save Ilya. Since you’re injured, you can wait here.” Did Mrs. Wuffletush fight the dragon directly? Her fur’s mostly burnt off and bloody, and she has gashes everywhere. She must be seriously injured if she hasn’t recovered yet. “Just hide for a bit; I’ll be right back.”

  Snow teleported a dragon into the city after bringing in five predators? I don’t know what his final plans are, but I’ll do everything in my power to disrupt him! Oh, and I have to save Ilya and Ilya Number Two. Yeah, that’s definitely the number one reason why I’m going to slay the dragon. But Durandal didn’t tell me how long I was passed out for. Maybe everything’s already over? I hope not. I finally found friends of my own; I don’t want to lose them so soon. No one’s allowed to take them away from me!

  “Let’s”—the ground shattered underneath my feet as I took a step forward—“go…?” I took another step, and the ground cracked even further. Why’s the ground so soft? No way! Don’t tell me I became fat after consuming all those cores! …Phew, I still look like me. Mm, this vaguely reminds me of a conversation I had with Durandal once. I think I asked him if someone could be as strong as a dragon if they consumed enough cores. Then Durandal said something along the lines of it’s impossible to get enough cores. How many did he say was required? Thirty? And I had … sixty. That means I wasted thirty cores! Oh, it also means I have the constitution of a dragon now.

  Wash your neck and wait for me, Snow’s dragon! I’ll recreate the Godking’s achievement today with a Breaking Blade! But, I just realized there was something I was forgetting. “Mrs. Wuffletush.”

  Mrs. Wuffletush’s head appeared from behind some bushes. She tilted it and blinked.

  “Which way’s the city?”

  Mrs. Wuffletush pointed behind her, the opposite way of where I was originally going to go. It’s a good thing she’s not directionally challenged like me. Why is that though? We’re both squirrels! Life really isn’t fair; why can’t it ever be unfair in my favor? Well, that’s just how life works; I should stop complaining and save Ilya! Ugh, but there should be a way to lessen my volume when I run. Maybe I’ll jump? Dragons can fly, right? And since I have the constitution of a dragon, I should be able to as well!

  I put all my strength into my legs and leapt into the air. It’s working! Ah, not really. I can’t change directions. Or increase or decrease my speed. Or stop myself from crashing into the tree! Who put this tree here!? Well, at least my skin’s thick enough that it didn’t hurt. And some acorns fell off the tree, sweet. Stop! Lucia. Ilya, remember? Right, forget the acorns! I have important things to be doing. Maybe I can fly to the city? If I jump a little harder than last time, I might be able to.

  After crashing into another tree, I figured out that my focus bones’ effects ran out. And the ones in my interspacial ring aren’t working anymore. Don’t tell me I’ve grown immune to the effects after becoming a legendary warrior. I demand a refund! Mm, but becoming a legendary warrior’s not all bad. Maybe I can breathe fire like that dragon in the sky too. …Nope. Well, it was worth a shot. Wait. Dragon in the sky? I’m here! Wait for me, Ilya; I’ll save you!

  ***

  After Lucia’s sudden departure from the space inside the coliseum, everyone else decided to leave as well once someone noticed she left four unconscious, but alive, predators behind. Why did she keep them alive…? I thought it’d be safe outside, but that’s when the trouble started. A massive dragon descended from the sky, and there was nothing we could do to stop it since Mrs. Wuffletush was still in the area. She fled after sustaining heavy damages, and Cain was getting ready to fight the dragon, but one of the predators from inside the coliseum woke up and came out. I’m not sure how it figured out the exiting method was to spin around five times, but it did.

  The only reason why I’m alive right now is because of the man riding on top of the dragon, Snow. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s Snow given Lucia’s description of him. He looks like Reena, but he has a flower clipped to the base of his ear, making him more feminine. Well, I thought it was clipped on, but my father pointed out the roots growing from Snow’s head. Evelyn, one of the princesses of the human empire, paled and fainted at the sight. I’m not sure why. She did mutter something about Bryant though. Currently, we’re at a standstill. There’s four predators surrounding us from the back and the sides, and there’s a dragon facing us from the front. By us, I mean every single person from the coliseum. I really dislike predators. They make me feel so helpless. Why the hell did Lucia not take them with her!?

  “So,” Snow said from atop the dragon’s head. His eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged on every surface of his exposed skin. “These are the people in charge of the sky and earth plane? Quite a pitiful lot, aren’t you?” He jumped off the dragon and landed on a predator’s back. He patted the dragon’s leg. “Burn the rest of the city down. Smoke out the survivors and kill them.”

  The dragon roared and flew into the air, flapping its massive black wings. It had yellow eyes, four legs that were as thick as tree trunks, and a tail that was as long as the rest of its body. I’ve seen pictures of dragons before, but I never thought I’d see one in real life. I thought they went extinct.

  “You’re Snow Flopsy,” one of the human survivors said. “Was all of this planned by you? The predators? The crazy squirrel girl? The dragon? How are you controlling them? What do you want from us?”

  “Snow Flopsy, yes,” Snow said and tilted his head. His mouth didn’t seem to be moving in time with his words—like they were delayed while coming out of his lips. “But not quite. You can cal
l me Snow Larkspur. I’ve joined the Larkspur family, and you’d do well to follow me. In fact, that’s why I’ve come here. I want to invite”—his head swiveled around like a broken puppet’s—“all of you”—blood leaked from the flower on his ear—“to my family.”

  There’s something seriously wrong with him. I’m getting shivers just by looking at him. He doesn’t seem like a person anymore. It’s jarring. The way he moves, the way he talks, the sound of his voice, and the dead look in his eyes, all of it makes me think he’s already dead and controlled by someone.

  “Has anyone heard of the Larkspur family?” a human asked. “Are they from the fae? There’s no such family among the humans and demons.”

  The lionkin that despised acorn stew shook his head. “There’s no Larkspur in our lands either.”

  Where the heck did Lucia go? What is she doing? Whatever she’s doing, I hope she hurries it up! I hate this feeling of powerlessness. I hate it. I can’t cast spells because the predators emit some kind of energy that disrupts my mana. But how? If I can figure out how it’s being interrupted, couldn’t I take measures to prevent the predators’ effects?

  Snow clapped his hands once. Then twice. Then he lowered his arms and blinked hard. “The Larkspur family is not from your plane. We’re from the wind and thunder plane.”

  Cain’s face paled, and he hid behind me, even crouching behind my back. What the hell? Why was Cain hiding behind a fourteen-year-old girl!? “Lord Thunderfire!” I whispered in my fiercest voice. “Have you no shame?”

  “Sshh!” Cain shushed me and peeked through my arm and my side to see if Snow was watching. “I don’t get along well with the people of the wind and thunder plane.”