Wolves of Hader

Chapter 138

The dragon's mana.

It was truly a strange kind of mana.

Should I say it had a consciousness of its own?

The dragon's mana that had entered my body didn't accumulate; instead, it moved on its own accord. It didn't even mix with my innate mana. Just like divinity didn't blend with my own mana.

"Doesn't the dragon's mana resemble divinity?"

"It's a branch of divine power."

"No wonder."

Dragon's mana really was similar to divinity.

Divinity, too, felt as though it had its own will, sometimes moving on its own. The elementals loved it as well.

This dragon's mana was also warmly welcomed by the elementals.

Despite being called the power of magical creation, nothing new was created, nor did my body change in any way.

"How do you create magic?"

"Magic is when nature responds to one's earnest wish and utmost will."

"So, is it possible with just research and effort?"

"It would be difficult. Elementals are nature itself. Thus, Elin, who is with elementals, can do it relatively easily."

Anyway, it meant I had gained a new kind of mana.

It felt as though I had reached the limit of my mana, but since my innate mana had already transformed my body, there wasn't any particular change.

Dragon's mana could also be used in sword technique.

It was like having extra mana that could be used separately from the usual kind. It seemed to have a strong unique property as well.

Thus, I now had three different powers.

Mana. Divine power. Dragon's mana.

"Donnie, are you alright?"

Donnie nodded.

He was just focusing on the flow of this new mana circling through his body.

Bellen and Lok were asleep.

At first, they struggled a bit, but soon stabilized—as expected from a race with an extremely high affinity for magic.

I started collecting coins again.

As I worked, I spoke up.

"Rungha. You said Asgard was a dragon of lightning?"

"That's right. It's the attribute of its mana."

"I don't feel any sense of lightning at all."

Rungha shut his mouth again.

I'd noticed something, too. When mana billowed out from the coins, sparks had jumped from the dragon's remains.

"If Asgard's mana has the lightning attribute, does that mean we get resistance to electricity?"

"You'll develop resistance as you get used to it."

I had another question.

"How do you create rock monsters?"

"By granting life with an elemental dwelling within it."

"So that means, you can control them even without mana? The rock monsters were just moving on their own because malevolent spirits were inside, right?"

Rungha nodded.

"Is Gadisil also close to elementals?"

"All of Aindel's race is deeply connected with elementals."

"I see."

It was no different from the Golems of the Iki Tribe.

If that's the case—

"Should I make you a body?"

"A statue, you mean?"

"Yeah. When you had your own body, you were a very dangerous being. But if you have a body made of rock, you'll simply be together with an elemental."

"That's right."

"I'll make you a rock giant for a body."

"But elementals won't want to be with me."

Because now he had become a seed of evil.

"You can just ask them. We'll put your head on the body of the rock giant. Since the darkness is weak when it's just your head, the elementals will have no reason to fear you."

"Can't you purify the darkness?"

"It'll probably be very difficult. If that power is erased, the immortality sorcery placed on you will also be undone."

That was likely.

Though I didn't know for sure.

"Will you really make me a body?"

"It's not that difficult. If you harbor evil intent, the elemental will just leave immediately."

Rungha nodded again.

"But there's a condition."

"What is it?"

"I'm taking Asgard's remains."

He said nothing.

"Why are you so attached to a master who died so long ago? The dragon probably wasn't kind to you. Are you forever enslaved to this mentality?"

"We are not slaves!"

"Asgard is dead. There's no reason for anyone to come here anymore, and dragons no longer exist in this world."

"Are you sure there truly are none left?"

"Yes. From what I saw earlier, it seemed like you wanted to use Asgard's remains as a weapon—but you were going to shatter it then, and now you don't want to?"

"T-that was to protect the palace."

"Sure, sure."

I nodded and spoke.

"Now that there's no reason to guard the palace, break down the remains. Judging by how intact they are, it seems some magic was cast on them."

"I can't anymore."

"Why?"

"As you mentioned... I tried to attack you all with Lord Asgard's remains, but now I have lost my power."

"So it wasn't because of some spell?"

"No."

I looked at Asgard's remains again.

It was odd that after all these years, the bones were still in their original state. Maybe dragon bones were always like that.

"Um... I can do it."

Bellen had woken up.

Lok was beside her.

"How?"

"My guardian elemental is a large hawk elemental. I asked, and it said it could dwell in those remains."

"Really?"

"Yes. My guardian elemental is a bird-shaped being formed of mana. It can't inhabit other materials, but it can dwell in dragon bones—because it's originally something that can fly."

"I see."

That hadn't occurred to me at all.

Rungha chimed in quickly.

"The Elin speaks the truth. Every dragon's body has a flight spell cast upon it. Dragons engraved magic onto their own bodies."

I had forgotten the invocation principle of the guardian elemental. Regular elementals can dwell in artificially created rock giants, while a guardian elemental dwells in the rock giant it creates itself.

Bellen's guardian elemental manifested as a bird of mana. With a wind attribute, as long as there was something it could fly in, it could dwell there.

"Bellen, could you try asking?"

"Alright."

Bellen took her staff and stood before the remains. Unlike before, a faint glow radiated from her body. Maybe the increase in her mana meant the guardian elemental granted permission.

"O guardian elemental. Please accept my request."

As soon as her words fell, a transparent being suddenly rose from the ground. It was a gigantic hawk in shape. As it was made of mana, a powerful magical aura surged forth.

Soon, Bellen's guardian elemental alighted and merged with the dragon's remains. Its mana-formed body instantly vanished as it entered Asgard's remains.

Light shone from the dragon's skull, and a gentle magical glow spread over the entire skeleton. It was as if the magic engraved on the bones had awakened.

Kiiiiiing—

A metallic grating sound rang out as the skeletal remains began to move. The fallen bones trembled slightly before straightening up. Then it spread its wings.

Kiiiiiiik—

The dragon's bony wings unfurled, and, using them as supports, it lifted its body. It stretched its legs, raised its torso, and even lifted its head.

"Oh."

I couldn't help but exclaim.

It was truly enormous.

It was about 10 meters tall. From head to tailbone, roughly 25 meters. The total length of the wing bones was around 10 meters, too. Once it stood, it nearly filled this treasure chamber to bursting.

Kiiing— tssrrrng.

Tssrrrrng—

The wing bones clattered against each other as the dragon's skeleton gradually began to rise into the air, tilting a bit before regaining balance.

At that moment, Bellen cried out, "Ah!" and ran up to the remains. To my surprise, she jumped up, grabbed the dragon's wing, and climbed up.

Bellen settled herself behind the skull of the skeleton. She looked elated, smiling brightly even in surprise.

"I'm riding the dragon!"

"Elder sister! Me too!"

"Alright, hop on!"

Lok sprang up and sat behind Bellen. He grabbed his elder sister around the waist and grinned, the two siblings looking as innocent as could be.

"Take it for a spin! Up the stairs!"

"Yes!"

"Don't go too far!"

"Okay!"

Charrng—

Asgard's skeleton hovered half-lifted in the air and started to climb the stairs. The wingtips scraped the wall, sending up a racket as it clattered its way upward.

"What happened?"

Donnie got up, too.

"There's no way to dismantle it here, so I sent it out for now. Urald and Wundbark will think of something when they see it."

"It would've been hard to move otherwise, so this is for the best."

"Right. How's your body?"

"It feels like my mana has increased considerably. I didn't think my mana vessel could expand any more, though."

"It's because it's a different type. If you forge a sword from the dragon's bones, you should be able to use lightning sword techniques. The mana we absorbed is Asgard's—so it has the lightning attribute."

"Does the lightning power only activate when combined with Asgard's bones? I saw electric sparks flying."

"That's right."

Donnie seemed to understand, too.

He looked at the coin heap.

"That's an incredible amount of mana."

"It's very versatile. We could even use it in place of mana stones. Especially in magic arrays—it should reduce our mana consumption a lot."

Donnie understood immediately.

Mana stones for arrays were typically made of electric stone. Since we didn't have any, we used copper instead.

But if we made wedges for magic arrays from Asgard's bones and embedded those bluish mana coins, it would generate enough electricity. We might not need mana stones at all.

Asgard's lightning mana would be a huge help. Not only for individual use, but it would probably have a huge impact on our house's sword technique training, [Sword of the Star].

"I'll start collecting now."

"Let's do it together."

Donnie opened a large sack. I drew my greatsword and began scooping the treasure into the sack as if shoveling.

'Aaaagh!'

'A monster!'

'Who told you to stop?!'

'We're already out of mana!'

It seemed the giant dragon skeleton had reached the palace. Perhaps it burst through the blocked staircase. I could now hear shouts that I hadn't heard before.

"Allen is quiet."

"Yeah. He's asleep."

"Hahahaha."

Looks like we'd underestimated just how much treasure there was. We thought we could finish in six hours, but at this rate, we'd be working all night and into the dawn.

/ / /

Fourteen people lay side by side on the palace floor.

After feeding everyone the wellspring of magic we'd brought, and spending an hour barely digesting the mana—

We had everyone imbibe Asgard's mana once more.

All seven of our team members advanced about two levels, and the officers jumped three or four levels at once.

There weren't many changes in the members' bodies, but the officers' muscles and skeletons shifted, some becoming more muscular, others leaner.

Since the Tuji brothers had just joined the special forces, they weren't ready to advance further. But they did manage to contain Asgard's mana in their bodies.

As everyone gradually recovered after absorbing mana, only Allen was snoring away. That guy had received the dragon's mana too—it'll work out somehow.

"Is it almost wrapped up?"

"Almost done. The dragon's mana can't be controlled as I wish, so there's not much to secure."

"Then let's all get up."

Everyone stood.

With regular mana, you had to be able to move it with your will for the process to be complete. With dragon's mana, it wasn't the same.

"To fully get used to the mana, you need to move your body! This time, let's run right up to the end of the stairs!"

"Great idea!"

I darted up the stairs first.

Everyone else followed much faster than before. Faces were bright, too. Their levels had risen in an instant.

The officers finally understood why we push our bodies so hard and why we must drain all our stamina and mana. Just like parched ground absorbs more water—that's the way of the world.

Through combat and training, as the body's abilities evolve, one prepares for further growth. By pushing the body to the limits, making it empty, that's the key to reaching a new level.

This stepwise evolution also has a limit, but if you break that limit, the Sword of Light is right before your eyes.

It's so hard to gather massive mana through training that few ever reach the Sword of Light. But for us, it's not difficult. If the nobles found out, they'd probably faint.

"It's definitely different now!"

"I know, but I can't do this again!"

"Your mind will change once you're on the verge of another breakthrough!"

"We'll see when that happens!"

Everyone's stamina had improved so much, they could chat while running without getting out of breath. With a single leap, they could clear about ten steps. We didn't even seem human anymore—more like beasts.

"My classmates would pass out if they saw me now!"

"Listen, fellas! This is just my two cents, but we should keep the fact that we came to Hader's house a secret!"

"Of course!"

"We'll keep it hidden to the grave!"

"If the captain were to take offense, we'd lose our armor and our skills would be withdrawn. No way we're running our mouths!"

"Hahaha! This is exhilarating!"

The officers bantered, the members running with quiet smiles. Even on the faces of the Tuji brothers, there was a look of resolve. I could guess what it was without asking.

The higher we climbed, the stronger the wind blew.

A snowstorm was raging.

We all climbed into the narrow space at the top and stopped.

In this space was the demon gate.

Five demon gates, emanating dark energy. Even an ordinary person would sense the ominous energy here. The officers were struck speechless.

"Destroy them all."

"Of course."

The officers and members began hammering at the gates. In the meantime, I climbed the stairs leading higher.

After about fifty more steps, I saw a gaping opening. Where once a boulder had blocked the way, asgard's skeleton had burst through.

I stood at the entrance.

With wind and snow whipping around me—

The massive dragon bones soared through the sky.