Trismegistus, clad in his golden mana, reached the bottom of the stairs.
The magic aura he emit illuminated the surroundings.
「……!」
「Hmm. Not very many today?」
Not very many? In response to this?
At the bottom of the stairs was an underground room that stretched further than the eye could see. Even us with night vision could not locate the walls.
The room easily exceeded a size of a few hundred meters. There’s no way such a large space could exist within that hill, so maybe the space itself was being distorted.
The power of the gods seemed to affect this area too, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it spanned over 1-2 kilometers.
Within this underground plane, the horde of countless antidemons took Fran’s breath away.
Moreover, each of them was powerful. Threat Level C or B antidemons packed into groups of several hundred.
After noticing the delicious mana radiated by Trismegistus, their hostility turned toward us at once. Such a brazen appetite and killing intent caused even Fran, Urushi, and Frederick to freeze at the sight.
But Trismegistus was unfazed despite being their main target. He walked into the room with the same light footsteps as if going on a stroll.
I see, his mind is definitely not normal. Rather than reassuring, it just felt creepy.
This must be another reason why Trismegistus was called a monstrosity.
「Little lady, make sure you never enter that room.」
「As long as we stay here, the antidemons won’t come for us.」
Some sort of ward blocked off the staircase from the room, so that the antidemons could not reach us.
In a sense, we had front row seats.
The antidemons moved into action, having discovered the intruder. One antidemon with giant arms, another with a horse-like lower body, a third with multiple heads… All of them were Uniques.
If it was us in there, we might be able to take on three at the most. Even if we were to go all out, ten at the same time would probably be impossible.
Regardless of how strong Trismegistus might be, how did he plan to take on this many antidemons? Maybe he only needed to break through their lines, so he could simply aim for the weakest link?
However, Trismegistus’ power far exceeded my imagination.
「Divine Dragon Form.」
Trismegistus muttered the words as he stared down the antidemons rushing toward him, followed by a tremendous flash of light that caused Fran and the others to involuntarily close their eyes.
By the time they opened their eyes again, his transformation was already complete.
Wings sprouted from his back, with golden scales covering his forehead, arms, legs, and neck. His horns and claws grew sharper, and his pupils turned long and narrow like those of dragons.
And what stood out most of all was the golden mana that grew even more radiant. While he was descending the staircase, it had only covered his body like a membrane. Now, the golden mana erupted from his body like a raging inferno.
『Divine Dragon Form! So he really could use it!』
「……Strong.」
「Kuhn…」
『Yeah. I honestly didn’t expect such immense power……』
As the golden dragonkin flapped his wings, he blasted off in an instant. Fran and I had been watching him closely, yet we completely lost sight of him.
By the time we found him again, he was already 100 meters away. I could barely tell what he was doing.
If we were up against him instead of those antidemons, Fran and Urushi would have already had their heads chopped off before they realized what happened.
He’s already beaten out everyone we know with the sheer magnitude of his mana, which was comparable to Weena Rhyn in her Demigod Form.
At least he couldn’t overcome the super-enhanced Weena Rhyn with both Demigod Form and Advance Loan. However, it seemed like Trismegistus still had power to spare. If he had any more tricks up his sleeve, he might be able to match the serious Weena Rhyn.
In other words, he’s among the strongest the world has to offer.
「Dragonic Flame Vortex.」
Trismegistus swung his arm, engulfing several antidemons with swirling flames and turning them to ash.
「Dragonic Ice Chain.」
Now ice. A white mist erupted from the golden dragonkin’s body, enveloping a enormous area around him. All the antidemons within range froze and shattered.
This doesn’t seem to be magic, maybe a skill? But I had the impression that dragonkin tended to be specialized, each having their own preferred element……
Yet Trismegistus was a master of several different attributes. It wasn’t only fire and ice, he displayed wind and thunder as well.
In the first place, he had golden scales. So what was his preferred attribute? It seemed different than the divine attribute, right?
「What kind of dragonkin is Trismegistus? He’s gold, so maybe thunder? Light?」
「Ah, gold-scaled dragonkin have a special attribute only found in the royal bloodline. They are imbued with “dragon ki”, which is a higher tier attribute.」
「Dragon ki?」
「Some call it “royal ki” or “the almighty attribute”. Basically, it’s mana on an entirely different level, containing all the other attributes. It’s also said to be the proof of a king who is comparable to the divine. If I had give his race a name, I suppose it would be “royal dragonkin” or “golden dragonkin”.」
So these golden dragonkin were a unique race that possessed multiple attributes. That’s probably why he could use so many different abilities.
In addition, his skill with the blade didn’t fall behind one bit. Trismegistus flew around slashing down antidemons at blinding speed, without stopping even for a moment.
Even these powerful antidemons fell like dominoes against the onslaught of slashes and elemental blasts.
Fran watched every one of his movements completely seriously. Though this man was a monster through and through, she still felt like she could learn something from him.
All because she believed that she would be able to catch up eventually. Even when staring into the depths of hell, Fran will always be Fran.
「Amazing……」
『Yeah.』
