Leveling up the World

Chapter 909: The Betrayal

Dallion and Aquilequia flashed through the air like a pair of lightning bolts. The dragon remained marginally faster, but had decreased its ability to affect large areas. The flaming breath had become the equivalent of a point attack, taking out a handful of Dallions instances at most. Aquilequia was fully aware of this, which was why her style of fighting had changed so dramatically.

Sparks of purple lightning ran over her entire body, like an armor of thorns, giving out a shock each time Dallion got close. His left arm was still suffering the consequences of a new permanent effect after he had attempted to pierce the dragons wing.

Spark! He let out a spiral attack.

The distance between him and the dragon was less than ten feet, but even so, Aquilequia managed to evade the lethality of the blow, merely getting the tip of her wing shredded.

Damn it! Dallion hissed internally.

His opponent combined the speed and energy of a dragonlet with the cunning and power of an ancient dragon.

A sword flew from the ground; Abla was attempting to influence the battle, but due to his condition, his skills were lacking.

The dragon snorted, evading the flying projectile as if it were a static object. Dallion could have done the same, but chose a different approach. Releasing the aura sword in his left hand, he grabbed hold of Ablas weapon.

Whats your level? He asked the item guardian directly.

Strong and arrogant, a purring male voice replied. I like you.

A dragonblade? Dallion wondered. Like everyone, he had heard the term, but up to now thought of it as highly unlikely. Thinking a bit more, it made sense that dragons would be precisely the type of guardians fit for top nobles. The only thing the creatures respected was strength, ensuring that anyone viewed as not worthy might come to a premature death at the hands of his own weapon.

I was over a hundred when I was first imprisoned, the item continued. That should be enough for you.

Yet again, Aquilequia flew by, casting an aether sphere around Dallion to limit his movements. Instinctively. He slashed at the purple material with both weapons. The force of the strike was enough to shatter the makeshift prison, although there was noticeable resistance on the dragonblades part.

Abla! Dallion shouted. Grant me permission to use your weapon!

Suddenly, the weapon felt a lot lighter.

What skills do you have? Dallion asked, filling the air with a series of line attacks.

Shapeshifting and permanent wounds should be enough for you, the guardian said in his pleasantly sinister voice. There could be no doubt that this sword, too, was one of the Twelve Suns rare items.

You wont like the shock that comes with fighting her, Dallion said, filling his own voice with power. The worst thing that an owner could do to an arrogant item was leave any doubt as to who was boss.

I can handle it. Can you?

Dallion concentrated, extending his magic threads into the weapon. The dragonblade didnt fight it, transforming into a six-foot broadsword.

Bursting into a new set of instances, Dallion flew in the general direction of Aquilequia. Her speed and maneuverability made predicting her movements nearly impossible, but with a scattershot approach with close to two hundred instances, Dallion was able to get close enough for an attack.

Sword clashed with claws as both opponents grasped the opportunity to inflict as much damage to the other as possible.

Purple rectangles flashed by, briefly showing the damage both parties had received. Dallion, as expected, had gotten his left arm paralyzed all the way to the shoulder. Miraculously, that hadnt affect his grip. As for Aquilequia, she had received a bleeding wound, which in the present circumstances amounted to nothing at all; her entire body was made out of magic, and magic couldnt bleed. Or couldn it?

Gleam, teach Harp to perform illusions at your level, Dallion said within his realm.

Teach her? The shardfly asked in near terror. I dont think theres anything I can teach her.

Just show her how its done!

For what Dallion had in mind, hed need to be able to cast illusions using his harpsisword, and he had to make certain that theyd hold.

In the real world, a single instant passed. Within Dallions realm, Giaccia had gone through an entire day of training to master the illusion ability of a spectral shardfly. Despite not being from another world, her learning ability was superior to Dallions. The magic limitations, though, had forced her to become creative in the way she analyzed and applied the knowledge provided by Gleam.

Dallion, of course, didnt leave anything to chance. For several minutes he continued the cat-and-mouse game with Aquilequia, avoiding her attacks until the effect of the paralysis had worn off. Then, hed engage in a close battle, unleashing as much power of the dragonblade as it allowed.

Ready, Harp? Dallion asked.

Count, he said, landing next to the hunter. Healing magic had done little to fix his wounds.

Did we win? the old man found the strength to ask.

Yes, Dallion replied. We won. Splitting into instances, he looked back to check how the duke was doing. Abla is alive. A bit scorched, but alive.

Good. The Count closed his eyes. Hell of a way to go, he said.

Hell of a way. Dallion forced a smile.

Your grandfather used to say that a lot.

The sentence shot through Dallion like lightning. The Count knew his grandfather?

Theyll kill me for telling you this, but Im dying anyway, so theres nothing they can do. The hunter let out a dry laugh mixed with coughing.

Where do you know him from?

From the Order. Your grandfather was part of the inner sanctum back when I was still a newbie. He was the bishop of the Twelve Suns, first after the Emperor before the change.

What change?

Sorry, kid the vow wont let me tell you

Part of Dallion wanted to continue with the questions for as long as possible. Finally, he had found someone willing to talk about his grandfather, and the man was at deaths door.

Desperately, Dallion cast a dozen more healing spells in a futile attempt to stabilize the Counts condition for an hour longer. There was no point. The old man was content to have done his duty, letting go of what little kept him clinging to life.

You didnt deserve this, Count. Dallion told himself as he played the chords of a heroic saga on his harpsisword. Music full of calm and joy flowed into the hunter, making the last few moments of his life a lot more bearable. Several seconds later, he stoppedthere was no need to continue.

Adzorg, Dallion said within his realm. Was this all worth it?

The whole inner sanctum had been obliterated. Awakened who could take on nymph water islands now lay dead in the forbidden north, killed by a dragon that only wished to escape its prison. The dragon had proved very costly to the empire, not to mention pointless. The great dragon would have remained imprisoned without their involvement. Possibly the smaller feral creatures might have become an issue at some point, but they could have easily been dealt with without suffering such losses.

I honestly dont know, dear boy, the mage replied. Youve gained a lot of experience, as well as a Moonstone. Not to mention that you saved Ablas life. All in all, Id consider the hunt a personal win.

Dallion didnt see it that way. If only he had a little more information, so much of this could have been avoided.

With a flick of his wrist, Dallion returned the Moonstone and harpsisword to his realm.

I cant believe we did it, Tors said as he approached, a fraction of composure returning to his voice. When it changed to an aether creature, I was worried it might

Faster than a lightning bolt, Dallion dashed to his cousin and gripped him by the throat. He had easily spotted the others attempt at using music skills on him. That, combined with his previous behavior, led to only one conclusion.

Youre one of them, arent you? Dallion tightened his grip as Tors struggled to break free. His strength was considerable, but compared to Dallion, he felt no stronger than a month-old kitten. Who ordered Abla dead?

I tors gasped for air. I didnt try to kill Abla he managed to say.

Youve been causing problems ever since we entered the north. At first, I thought it was due to your incompetence, but it wasnt, was it? You just wanted to create an opportunity to act. That last music attack proved it.

No I just

I couldnt manage anything of the sort, but you did. And not only that, you were able to fill up the dragon with the one emotion that would make it blindly charge at the duke. If I hadnt managed to

You! Tors said as loud as he could. kill you!

Dallion loosened his grip just a fraction, constantly on guard in case the Elazni tried to attack with music skills again.

I tried to kill you, his cousin repeated. On orders from the emperor himself.