I got into school for nothing - 361
I got into school for nothing (361)
Lesson 71. To Restore to Normal - 1
Rasteil Pendragon Melodia, head of the Melodia family, was consumed by profound regret.
He regretted allowing Aire and Ban Yuwon to become close in the first place.
No, perhaps it was a mistake even to permit her enrollment in Union Academy.
There was no need for her to operate from within.
What if, when she, who inherited the hope of all True Dragons, awakened to her mission, she had led her retainers and sacrificed herself to open the path into the Tower?
At least then, such a pathetic situation—where she, even after being forcibly awakened as a True Dragon, became utterly infatuated with a man and abandoned her race's mission—would not have occurred.
“Had he underestimated emotions too much, or perhaps underestimated the power of the Tower Lord's successor...?”
The last opportunity to target only Ban Yuwon, with Aire separated from him.
Moreover, if they could also destroy the hateful Tower Lord's home world, it would be the icing on the cake.
He knew many secrets intertwined between the Tower Lord and the True Dragons, but he knew little about Earth.
Conversely, if it was a world so meticulously hidden, it must have played a crucial role in the Tower Lord's plans.
“Found it.”
One of the five strongest first-generation Spartoi, Cthonius of the Earth, growled, his teeth protruding like a dragon's, and muttered.
“Did they truly believe they could disappear, impudently riding along the dimensional wall our father created? Foolish beings.”
“Cthonius, you know not to get excited, don't you?”
“Be grateful my fury isn't directed at the last True Dragon, Rasteil.”
Cthonius's sons had participated in the previous raid and died miserably.
He had believed that when the True Dragon awakened, she would side with them, sending his sons on an expedition after thousands of years. Yet, the True Dragon had betrayed them, and his sons had died, their bodies never even returned.
It was no wonder he resented the True Dragon.
“That rage is misplaced. If we kill him—if we deal with the Tower Lord's descendant—she will regain her senses.”
“Really? A True Dragon who stifled even the rage of losing her own Echion, inherited from her parents, with love for that man?”
“Even if that futile fever never heals.”
The fleet, led by Pendragon, the head of the dragons' illegitimate children wandering after losing their mother, collided head-on with the barrier protecting Earth, crossing the dimensional wall.
He watched silently as all the barrier-breaking artifacts, prepared solely for this moment, oxidized and gradually chipped away at the barrier.
“If he dies and is held captive by the Tower, he will eventually cooperate with us to destroy it.”
“Indeed—if the hand wielding the weapon changes, even if the same operation is carried out, the outcome can be adjusted to our liking, you mean.”
“I don't like treating Lady Aire as a weapon—but there's no problem understanding it that way.”
He knew that Ban Yuwon disliked the Tower.
Of course, he considered the possibility that such an attitude might be an act, but regardless, Ban Yuwon was ultimately their enemy.
If the Tower were to fall and the True Dragons were released, they would never leave Ban Yuwon be. And Ban Yuwon, already aware of this, would somehow try to kill the True Dragons in the process of dismantling the Tower.
Aire knew this and yet still intended to cooperate with Ban Yuwon—but.
If it were Aire after his death, she could be controlled however they pleased and used to resurrect the True Dragons.
“It's done.”
Finally, the barrier was breached, causing a terrifying tremor that shook the entire dimension.
So powerful was its defense that even after breaking through, they had to forcibly tear through the double barrier spread across the entirety of space, reducing their mobility to less than half.
Nevertheless, the dragonbone battleship remained fast and powerful.
One could dare to bestow upon it the title of the strongest battleship in the universe.
“They said one was hijacked.”
“It couldn't be helped. The new vassals created by that Tower Lord's descendant... they are alien. Their Authorities are excessively powerful.”
Cthonius gnashed his teeth.
“The vassals of the previous Tower Lord were each granted powerful individuality, but they could never imitate their master's Authority. But what is this? These bastards wield their master's Authority freely, as if they are connected as one body.”
“......”
“It was instantaneous. In the blink of an eye, without even a chance to defend the battleship, that damn doll devoured our proud vessel.”
Now that they had entered, it was time to seal off this entire space to prevent anyone else from entering.
Perhaps Ban Yuwon had intended to summon his companions later, but the family head had no intention of tolerating such futile attempts.
Just as they had breached the initial barrier, they now expended all artifacts prepared solely for this moment to erect a barrier that no one, not even a True Dragon, the Tower Lord, or the Chancellor, would dare to breach until they had finished their work.
It was Melodia, already skilled in spatial magic.
The barrier, perfected with the family's endless wealth, profound magical abilities, and the aid of Dragon Fang Soldiers who had lived for millennia, now formed a dimensional prison from which no one could escape or enter.
“Perhaps...”
He inspected the completed barrier, a sneer gracing his lips.
Pushing through the vacuum of space, he took in the gradually approaching sight of Earth and spoke again.
“He is different from his predecessor. Both the manifestation of his Authority and his potential are vastly superior to the previous generation. The only thing he lacks is time. Only three years have passed since he truly began to comprehend and wield his Authority. No matter how fast his development—even if he has progressed enough to defeat the heads of the Ten Great Families, he is still, by far, weak.”
He admitted it: Ban Yuwon, with his astonishing growth, had even surpassed him.
Yet, that was still far short compared to the predecessor, not even reaching the level of the Chancellor.
On their side were the strongest Dragon Fang Soldiers, who had gnashed their teeth for millennia, and the universe's most powerful legion they commanded.
If they could only ensure his death here—.
“The Tower will shake like never before. Likewise, during the process of such a being becoming a Constellation, there will be unrest in the Tower. If we exploit that opening, we can, surely, bring down the Tower.”
“Already treated as a Transcendent?”
“He is a Transcendent, alright. A Transcendent with terribly bothersome and tiresome abilities at that.”
“A mere whelp who's only lived 21 years... Truly an annoying lineage, that Tower Lord bastard...”
“But that Transcendent, we will hunt him today.”
Earth came into view.
The family head intended to pinpoint Ban Yuwon's coordinates and ram him directly with the battleship.
Perhaps the bastard would retaliate with his own means; he might even block them.
But with four first-generation Dragon Fang Soldiers, all gathered here (excluding the deceased Echion), and himself joining the surprise attack, there was no way he could possibly withstand it.
“If he can even accomplish that, we'd have no choice but to acknowledge him, but we won't be defeated—hm?”
A sword appeared.
A colossal sword.
Rasteil doubted his own eyes.
“Clarent's...?”
Why was that here?
Alright, let's concede that it was here.
But could Ban Yuwon possibly wield it?
Let's even concede that he could move it with his power.
Without the Authority of the Clarent family, that sword was ultimately just a giant sword.
Some might misunderstand after watching the videos uploaded on the Rebellion channel, but what that bastard had seized was merely control over the sword.
Changing the trajectory of a sword whose Authority had already been activated and fired was an entirely different matter from reactivating a sword whose Authority had been deactivated and firing it anew.
The Authority contained within it should have been deactivated after the incident. Furthermore, what meaning was there in bringing it all the way to Earth, which wasn't even within Clarent's sphere of influence?
“We have to dodge.”
However, Cthonius's voice, as he watched the sword flying towards them head-on, was grave.
Rasteil also realized it.
Clarent's ultimate weapon, the Final Sword, was hurtling towards them, its inherent Authority perfectly activated, indeed carrying the power to obliterate an entire star.
He simply could not comprehend it.
How? Surely, no one from the Clarent family was with them?
“No, we can't dodge it.”
Melodia had no way to seize control of that sword.
The Final Sword would never slow down or miss its target until it struck.
They had to block it.
“This is insane...!”
Kwagagagagak!
The Final Sword, slamming head-on into the dragonbone battleship, instantly shattered dozens, hundreds of layers of protective barriers, ripping through the vessel from bow to stern, splitting it in half as it closed in.
Its destructive power was enough to smash even the bridge where the family head and the first-generation Dragon Fang Soldiers were stationed.
Before that could truly happen, Cthonius leaped out.
“Face Cthonius of the Earth—!”
Cthonius, who boasted the strongest defense among all Dragon Fang Soldiers, gathered all his bodily strength and single-handedly blocked the Final Sword.
—Kwaaaaaang!
True to a Dragon Fang Soldier who had lived for millennia, his defense was unrivaled. The Final Sword, said to shatter stars, was also weakened after breaking through the barrier and the battleship made of True Dragon bones, so it momentarily halted its movement, pushed back by his outstretched hands.
“That guy's going to die.”
Peloros the Giant, another first-generation Dragon Fang Soldier like him, clucked his tongue and said.
Rasteil had the same thought, but he had no time to respond, busy chanting magic to assist Cthonius.
It was, of course, a futile hope.
“Kuhak!”
The price for single-handedly blocking a star-shattering force immediately enveloped Cthonius, leaving no room for reprieve.
There was no space for protective or regenerative magic to intervene.
Every bone in his body was crushed, muscles torn and pulverized, blood vessels burst, and flesh was not just mangled but melted, dripping onto the floor.
“Nykteus, Lykos...!”
Calling out his sons' names, Cthonius, who had squeezed out his last ounce of strength to block the Final Sword, somehow managed to use his draconic power to dissolve the Authority of Clarent contained within the Final Sword, the trajectories of countless sword strikes.
The sword's advance ceased.
Cthonius's movements also ceased.
“...So three left, then. Ha, the Tower Lord's name is certainly heavy.”
Hyperenor the superhuman sneered.
Udaios of the ground merely kept his eyes tightly closed.
Rasteil gritted his teeth and shouted.
“He's coming. The war starts now!”
Indeed, Rasteil's judgment, after watching him for several years, was accurate; they saw a colossal... mechanical human-like entity flying rapidly from Earth.
No, that wasn't all.
“Hey, surely that's.”
“Is that... the dragon the traitor created?”
“...Interesting. The descendant of the last True Dragon and the descendant of the traitor, both siding with the Tower Lord's descendant at the same time.”
In the dark vacuum of space, a mechanical dragon, glittering golden all over, asserted an even greater presence.
It was none other than the Mecha Gold Dragon, a Spartoi that Asha had successfully secured as her vassal, usually serving as armor to protect her.
[The time has come! Dragon-Human Fusion, Dragon Knight Abel—!]
The silly-sounding woman's voice, as if blowing away all the meticulously built tension, echoed widely through space.
But what happened the next moment was anything but laughable.
The Mecha Gold Dragon transformed into a blinding golden light, seemingly enveloping the mechanical human. In an instant, its size more than tripled, and a dragon knight clad in golden armor appeared.
“...What is that? Was there any record of such a thing?”
“We'll be the first to record it, then.”
Rasteil gnashed his teeth, looking at the monstrous creation born from the combined powers of the Tower Lord's descendant and the True Dragon's traitor.
“And we will also leave the final record. That monstrosity must be—even if just to appease Cthonius's spirit—destroyed today.”
Meanwhile, what was Ban Yuwon doing, having boarded this historic combined robot with his companions?
“Do you really have to shout out "Combine!" so dramatically to be satisfied? Huh?”
[Of course, Master! When combining, proudly announcing what kind of fusion this is, is the key!]
Groaning at his perpetually immature vassal, he sighed and then made another request to his fellow passenger.
“Then let's take 'that' and fight now. You can do it, Sis, right?”
“Yep! I'll do my best!”
Kang Miyeon, in charge of weapon control within the Dragon-Human Fusion, Dragon Knight Abel, clenched her fists and shouted.
She looked excited, perhaps just from being in close proximity to Ban Yuwon, but he gently decided to ignore that.
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