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nTears in the Wyvern’s Eyes

nUsing Mana Detection while casting magic was as difficult as eating with the left hand and writing with the right, but it was necessary for the cure.

nHikaru amassed his mana that had increased tremendously over the course of the day. He placed his left hand on the belly of the red wyvern, Tolua. Contrary to expectations, it was hot enough to burn him if he kept his hand on too long.

n「In the name of the King of Hell in the Depths of the Earth, O’ accursed soul, I command you. Lay dark evil upon this body. My mana I offer, so this body you devour.」

nIt had only been a day since Hikaru started using magic. He still wasn’t used to it. However, thanks to his Mana Detection, he could see the flow of his mana, making it clear to him how much power he needed to invoke the spell.

nHikaru uttered the name of the spell, the trigger to the invocation.「Fratile Epidisease.」

nHe found the experience strange. There were no such words, but the spell still activated. The spell itself had been passed down from ancient times, and countless magic scholars tried to study it, but they all failed.

nWhen the spell was cast, a change in the mana occured, one that was incomprehensible even to Hikaru. There was a part of him that wondered if there was a secret to the naming itself, but only someone like him, who had maxed out his Mana Detection and had the Soul Blaze buff, increasing his abilities by 10%, could notice it. Ordinary scholars would not be able to realize the secret.

nHikaru did not plan to become a scholar, so being able to use magic was enough for him.

nSuddenly, Tolua let out a pained grunt as something happened inside its body. Its eyes widened.

n「Don’t fight it.」Hikaru said.「Just accept it.」

n「But—」

n「What, losing composure over what a puny human is doing?」

nHikaru’s challenging tone silenced Tolua, and it let the spell take over itself. He could see the mana transforming and entering the wyvern’s body. When it reached an organ, it started messing with the body.

nGood. Good.

nTolua began acting strange. Not good, Hikaru instinctively thought. He leapt backwards with everything he got.

nThe wyvern shook its body and rose to its feet. It let out a thunderous roar, spreading its wings wide. The shockwave sent Hikaru flying backwards.

n「Hikaru!」

n「Hikaru-sama!」

nPaula and Lavia came running to Hikaru.

n「Careful, you two! Keep your distance!」

n「All right!」

n「Okay!」

nThe girls immediately turned on their Stealth, but Hikaru didn’t. His Stealth was much more powerful than theirs; he could hide himself later and he would still be fine. If he vanished first, the girls might get targeted instead.

nThe wyvern arched its neck and roared, a loud cry that reached even Hikaru. The other relaxing wyverns quickly rose, directing their gaze at the source of the commotion.

n「What the hell is that?!」

nWhite flames appeared as the wyvern opened its mouth skyward. It was preparing to unleash a high-temperature and highly destructive flame breath.

nHe’s gone berserk. What now?

nHikaru only had a few seconds to think of his next move.

nThe mana from the gold must be clashing with my magic inside his body.

n「Tolua!」Hikaru shouted.「The gold is the enemy!」

nTolua’s eyes snapped open, and intense flames burst out from its mouth. It was midday, but the flames made it even brighter, almost as if another sun had appeared.

nThe gold on the roofs of the houses quickly melted as the flames hit. Tolua’s instincts urged it to fight, to breathe fire, and Hikaru had pointed the enemy at it.

nIt must have been painful for Tolua to release such a powerful breath, all the more so when it had been lying there doing nothing for many years. Its body should have been weakening over time.

nIts outstretched neck lost its strength, and its body toppled over like a wilting grass, sending up a cloud of dust.

n「That was close.」

nFlames and smoke rose from everywhere, and molten gold dripped to the ground.

n「Hikaru.」

nThe girls came over.

n「Are you alright, Hikaru-sama?」

n「Yes, I’m fine.」Hikaru replied, dusting off his clothes.

n「What happened?」Lavia asked.

nHikaru explained what had happened to Tolua. The two seemed to be somewhat convinced.

n「I don’t think he’s gonna lose it again.」he said.

n「Why not?」

n「The tumor is growing. It’s absorbing more and more mana.」

nHe could see it clearly with his Mana Detection. Tolua had expelled the gold’s mana from its body along with the flames, resulting in the tumor growing rapidly.

n「My spell worked out.」Hikaru said.「Now to pour some water on him to snap him out of it—」Hikaru felt his consciousness fading.

n「Hikaru?」

n「Hikaru-sama?」

nApparently, only one point on Mana was barely just enough.

nWhen Hikaru woke up in the evening, he went to talk to Tolua, who was also now awake. The wyvern said it felt much more refreshed and it had a good grip of its mind.

nHikaru suggested that they get Tolua away from the village and use Paula’s Healing magic there. That way, the wyvern would not be affected by the gold’s mana, and they could remove the tumor before it got bigger.

nBut Tolua shook its head.「You can do that after you save the other wyverns. Like me earlier, they might go on a rampage as well, right?」

n「It’s certainly possible.」

n「My mind is clear, but my body is in a poor state. It must be the tumor you spoke of. It does not make sense for me to rest while you go help my companions.」Its will was firm.「I will hold them down, and you can do whatever you want.」

n「Are you sure you don’t just want to see your friends go through the same pain you’re going through?」

n「That is not true. I simply care for my companions.」Tolua snorted.

nApparently, Hikaru’s magic gave it an unpleasant sensation, as if someone were sticking their hand inside its body and stirring it around.

nHikaru and Tolua went to the other wyverns to cast the same spell. Since he did not have enough mana the first time, he added two more points for a total of four, making it much easier to cast magic.

nJust as Tolua said, it held the wyvern in place so they didn’t go out of control. The wyverns’ eyes were glazed over before the spell was cast, and after a while their eyes snapped open, but by that time Tolua was already on top of them, its face right in front of their eyes.

n「Gwwwoooaaahhh… (Bear with it. You are a proud wyvern, are you not?)」

n「Gwooaa… (I-I am.)」

nThey looked to be on the verge of tears, but Hikaru decided he was only seeing things. Lizards had tear glands, but only to flush out the debris in their eyes. They were not crying because they were in pain.

nWith the wyverns unable to move, Hikaru could send mana until the tumor grew, allowing him to erase the gold’s mana.

n「What? You mean I don’t have to treat the wyverns all the way?」

n「Yes. They care for others, just like me.」

nTolua sounded proud, but the wyverns’ eyes were teary. No, not tears. Just rubbish.

n「O-Okay, then.」

n「Mmm. Can you continue?」

n「I just need some rest, and I’m good. I’ll do everything I can.」

nHikaru cast spells on the wyverns throughout the night, taking breaks in between. He rushed it so the tumors would not go untreated for too long. The other wyverns later on were pinned down by many other wyverns. When Hikaru cast his magic, numerous faces appeared in front of them, threatening. They became teary-eyed every time. No, they just got something in their eyes.

n「The last one is Erb.」

nBy dawn, there was only one wyvern left that had not been touched by the magic spell. A huge wyvern, just like Tolua. Only someone as big as Tolua could pin it down.

nHikaru did not want another wyvern breathing flames on them. Erb might hit the wyverns if they were grouped together, so he suggested that only Tolua held its co-leader down.

n「No.」Tolua said.「We do this together.」

n「They’re crying.」Hikaru said.

nThey weren’t just teary-eyed. Some were legitimately crying, tears streaming down their faces, and coughing up blood.

n「We do it together.」But Tolua would not yield.「Let us go.」

nTolua lumbered forward, with the other wyverns tottering behind him.

n「H-Hikaru, are you okay?」Lavia asked.

n「It’s the last one. I’ll make it quick.」

nHe was exhausted, his mana almost all gone, but Erb was the last one. He had to just go for it.

nHikaru stepped into the village, moving to the end of the column of the wyverns. The group then surrounded the blue wyvern, Erb.

nCorrupted by the gold mana even worse than Tolua, Erb opened its eyes when it felt a different presence. Reflected on its listless eyes was Tolua, about to lean on him. The blue wyvern let out a grunt.

n「Stay still.」Tolua said.「It’ll all be over soon.」

nErb roared as it struggled, and more wyverns pounced on him to pin him down.

n「Now, Hikaru! Do it!」

nWhat do you mean, do it? Am I the only one feeling the earth tremble every time it moves?

nBut he had to do it. This was the last one. Hikaru sprinted, weaving through the spaces between the wyverns, and laid his hand on Erb’s body.

n「In the name of the—」

nIt was hot. Burning. Terribly hotter compared to Tolua. If it was some sort of cooking, he would have quickly pulled his hand back, but the thought of Paula’s magic healing potential burns and his will to finish the job kept his hand on the wyvern.

nNow I’m wide awake! Focusing on his mana, Hikaru began chanting.

n「In the name of the King of Hell that rules the depths of the earth, O accursed soul, I command you. Lay dark evil upon this body. My mana I offer, so this body you devour.」

nThe heat and the unusual stimulation from lack of sleep made the core of his head ache. Not used to casting magic, Hikaru decided to put all of his remaining mana into the process.

n「Fratile Epidisease.」

nLike a sharp drill, the mana dug its way into Erb’s organs, quickly creating a tumor.

nErb lifted its body, shaking off the wyverns.

nTolua screamed as it fell from its back.「Hikaru, run!」

n「Easy… for you.. to say.. I used up all my mana…」Hikaru fell on his knees.

nWhite light gathered around Erb’s open mouth. The wyvern turned to Hikaru.

n「Ah…」

nFlames that could evaporate even gold in an instant were rushing towards him. A direct hit could char a person down to the bone in an instant.

nBut Hikaru’s legs would not move. He did not expect that the wyvern had the power to shake off that many wyverns. It was his fault for not considering that.

n「You fool!」

nA huge figure slid in front of Hikaru’s eyes. As Tolua bit Erb’s neck, the breath that shot from the blue wyvern’s throat shot up in a straight line towards the sky, like a soaring dragon.

nEventually the light vanished, and silence descended.

n「Tolua…」

n「You have finally regained your senses.」

nErb’s upper body lurched and it fell to its side. Blood dripped from Tolua’s teeth. Scales fluttering down in front of Hikaru reflected the light from the morning sun, making them look like stardust.

nThus, the last wyvern was freed from the gold’s spell.

nAfter moving far away from the reaches of the gold’s mana, Paula healed all the wyverns. Completely removing the tumor required highly advanced magic, which Paula was capable of using, but she lacked the mana, so Hikaru had to increase her mana capacity from 12 to 20. 30 points was the max.

nHikaru had never seen a stat so high. Even Lavia only had 15. He expected some sort of change, but Paula seemed fine as she began healing the wyverns.

nPaula still has 20 points available, so I can definitely max it… 30 points is the max. Nah.

nThe Soul Board was a powerful drug. A single point could change the world drastically. Hikaru had maxed out specific Skills, but he had never maxed out basic stats like Mana, Mental Strength, and Stamina. He had never seen anyone with a maxed out Soul Board either.

nMaxing out specific Skills also caused Skills like Heaven Sword or Heaven Shot to appear.

n【Heaven Shot】A Skill that reaches the domain of God, a being who controls divine providence. Lose a part of what makes one human. Max: 5.

nFrom what he had gathered so far, leveling up anything Heaven-related would make you lose part of what made you human—in other words, emotions. Overusing the Soul Board could be dangerous, so Hikaru wanted to be careful with it moving forward.

n「Are you feeling all right?」Lavia asked.

n「Yeah. A little sleep and I’m all good.」

n「Tolua said it was a close call. Be more careful.」She was staring at him.

n「Sorry. I might have been a little impatient.」

n「As long as you understand. I know you were worried about the wyverns.」

n「Thank you.」

nI really can’t get anything past her. Knowing that there was someone who understood him deeply delighted him.

n「So, Hikaru.」

n「Yes?」

n「Why are we here?」Lavia asked.

nHikaru and Lavia were right outside the Pozi village. Tolua’s breath had burned down several houses. The fire still smoldered, the air carrying a burnt smell.

n「I want to try something.」Hikaru said.

n「Try what?」

n「I think we can get rid of the mana.」He had arrived at this conclusion.「I need your help. Can you lend me a hand?」

n「You can count on me.」Lavia puffed out her chest.「I’ll show the world that I’m your number one.」

nOkay. Her motives seemed to be off, but being ambitious was a good thing.

n「All right. Let’s do it.」

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