The Dive: Birth of a Wordsmith (60 page)

Chapter
28

“
Oh dear… so
that’s why Levy couldn’t track you.” Lilith nodded
after I went through the situation with her, including the
information we just learned from Dariel. “You said it was dark,
but I couldn’t hear you either. Whatever this is can soak up
detection spells far too well if it can block my power.”

“
Yeah.. and given
the scale of it, I think you can see why we called you in.” I
glanced up to the mountain again, thinking this was still quite a bit
bigger than the sea monster she humiliated the other day.

“
I understand, and
thanks for counting on me. Though, truth be told I’ve no idea
what I’m up against either. Is it alright if I bring one of my
generals in on this? Dremor is known for knowing about pretty much
everything.”

“
If you think he can
help, then please. The only thing we know for sure that works is
hellfire, so we’ve been using that to attack.”

“
At least we know
something that works. Alright. Dremor the Wise, your queen requests
an audience with you.” Lilith raised her voice as she spoke to
the air, her words carrying on the breeze. Moments later, a blue
swirl of light erupted beside her, turning into a blue demon wearing
a robe.

The demon-- Dremor, I
assume-- kneeled down in front of Lilith. “You have summoned
me, Queen Lilith?”

“
That’s right.
It appears that there is a creature growing within this mountain
which may well threaten countless lives. From what Jin has told me,
the mountain itself is little more than an egg, while the surrounding
forest feeds it nutrients by consuming any creatures it comes
across.”

“
I see. You wish to
learn about this creature, to best prevent its rampage.” When
Lilith nodded, Dremor continued. “Even for you, this will be no
easy battle, my queen. For there are only two plants that could grow
so large, and this is not the world tree.”

“
Then speak its
name, Dremor.”

“
My queen, I fear
that this is a nature dragon. The likes of which has not been birthed
for over a thousand years.” When Dremor gave his conclusion,
both Dariel and Lilith had their faces go stiff.

“
I see.. Are there
any of the old ones nearby that could claim it?”

“
There are not. The
dragons abandoned these lands some time ago, so I believe that this
fledgeling was placed here many years ago, waiting for the chance to
grow.”

I decided to intervene in
this conversation, because this was not at all looking good. “Pardon
me… but if this is just the fledgeling stage.. how large will
the dragon become when it hatches?”

Dremor looked back to me
with a faint smile. “Depending on the quality of its food, a
nature dragon can easily grow to be bigger than this entire island.
They are among the most powerful of the dragon races.”

“
So.. is there
anything we can do to stop it?”

“
You may be the
inheritor of the King’s magic, but you are not yet strong
enough to face even a lesser dragon. For a fully grown nature dragon,
it would require all of the generals gathered together. Thankfully,
this is but a fledgeling. The queen and a single general would be
able to safely ensure victory.”

Okay, so being told I
wouldn’t be able to handle even the weakest of dragons may have
been a blow to my ego. But I couldn’t deny that he was probably
right. “So there is nothing that the rest of us can do to
help?”

Lilith smiled to me, “You
found this creature before it could cause a disaster. Had you chosen
a different island, it might have hatched and hidden in the sea, not
emerging until it was too large to be fought by any reasonable force.
This much is enough.”

“
Pardon me, queen
Lilith, but there is yet a role for him. Even if you were to bring
Halor to this battle, it would be in vain without someone keeping the
forest in check.”

Lilith turned her
attention to Dremor, her gaze suddenly colder. “What do you
mean?”

“
The dragon is
already one with the forest of this island. If it finds itself in
danger, then it can hasten its growth to maturity by sacrificing the
plants as well as the animals. Someone must eliminate as much of its
influence in the forest as possible, while you and your chosen
general fight. It would be a simple matter for you to destroy the
forest, but doing so would immediately wake the dragon, and your
magic would be too depleted to fight.”

She sighed deeply, nodding
to Dremor’s words. “Very well, you are right. What do you
propose?”

“
Call Halor to fight
with you, and then dispatch Belial and Krath as well, along with
myself. The three of us can take points of the island to wipe out the
forest, while Jin and his companions take the last point. Against the
forest, hellfire is an effective weapon, and the elf priestess is a
master of nature magic. She should be able to disrupt the control
enough to level the field.”

Dariel raised her eyebrows
to Dremor, obviously wondering how he knew so much about her. Then
again, Lilith said he was known for knowing about everything. I
suppose that includes hidden elf clans.

“
I don’t like
it… but I trust you, Dremor. You earned the title of the Wise,
so I shall heed your council. Very well, on this day I will mobilize
four generals of hell, and take the field of battle myself.” I
saw a smile spread across Lilith’s lips. “It’s been
too long since we were able to stretch for a bit.”

“
I am pleased that
you approve of my plan, Queen Lilith. It would be wise to perform the
attack as soon as the sun sets, when the trees become less active.
Though they will still react to such present danger and resort to
using their stored energy, it will make it a more even fight for
those in the surroundings.”

She nodded again, and
looked towards me. “Will you be careful, Jin? I’m sorry
to have to use you in this fight as well..”

“
Don’t be
sorry, I’m glad I can do something aside from simply watching.
And I’ll be as careful as ever. I’ve got a few tricks
hidden up my sleeves for emergencies too, you know?”
God
I hope I can come up with a few useful tricks.

Lilith smiled to me again
and laughed softly. “Very well, I’ll entrust you with
this. There are a few hours yet before the sun sets, so make what
preparations you need to. I’ll explain this matter to the other
generals. Summoning four knights of Hell in one place may itself be
seen as an act of danger, so I must wait to call them until the
battle begins.”

I nodded to her, and
pulled out my grimoire as I sat on a nearby rock. I had never
actually used the ability it had to allow me to raise my Magic Talent
level temporarily by studying it, but for this I’d need any
boost of power I can get. Likewise, I spent the points I had received
from leveling my nature magic in the tunnels. The result was that I
finally hit my goal of 500 intelligence!

Eh? I got a talent
version of my grimoire ability? But it seems a bit different…
this doesn’t imply automatic proficiency, and the items created
might be permanent. So it’s really a good reward!
I decided to take a look at the new spell to see what it said.

So really, it’s
an improved version of my Lesser Creation, but I won’t be able
to just pull it off on the spot as easily. Also, what’s with
not being able to make money? How does that make sense?

Denise looked to me and
smiled, seeing my face. “You got something good, didn’t
you?”

“
Not for this fight,
but it will come in handy later. Right now, I need to work on a
really big hellfire spell.”

“
How big?”

“
Big big.”

“
That’s big.”
Denise laughed for a bit and sat down beside me. “You up for
this battle? I mean, the two of us barely made it through the forest
alive before.”

“
Yeah, but that was
during the day. At night, didn’t we sleep peacefully in the
forest a full night without an issue?”

“
True. I hope it can
go that easily.”

“
I have faith in us.
Besides, we’re just cutting off its fingers. It’s Lilith
and that Halor person that are actually fighting the dragon.” I
smirked, and stood up, leveling out a large section of the ground to
begin working on my diagram for the spell I wanted to make.

“
True… what
are you doing?”

“
I need the room.”

“
...Big big?”

“
Very big.” I
nodded, sitting in the middle of the space I cleared out and
focusing. This had to be a spell more complex than any other I had
created or used yet. Its power wouldn’t rival the Open Pit, but
the complexity would be unmatched. I estimated it would take at least
seven circles to fully create the spell. If I didn’t have my
game skills assisting me, I likely wouldn’t be able to conjure
the diagram in battle to cast it.

I spent the rest of the
evening like that, creating various spells to use in the battle.
There was no way for me to test them out, but I could judge their
worth by their descriptions. In the end, I only made three spells,
but I had to hope they were enough.

Lilith appeared beside me
again, giving me a hug and wishing me luck before she stepped in
front of the mountain. The sun was about to set, so the time for the
big fight was almost here. “The generals are ready and waiting
for my call. You guys get in position, and again… good luck.”
Lilith aimed a sad smile at me, before stretching out her hand.

“
Demon Queen Lilith,
sovereign of Hell and ruler of the shadows calls for her armor, and
her blade.” She spoke in likely the most serious tone I had
ever heard from her, before hellfire rose up around her body. The
typical black armor she usually wore was expanded, going from an…
ahem… breastplate… to actual armor that covers her
entire being. Slowly, the black armor plates spread across her body,
turning her into a black flaming knight. Even her tail received a
layer of armor, and the eyes of her helmet were lit up with a bright
red glow.

On her left hand, the
black metal extends into four inch claws, with a small shield coming
up from her wrist. In her right hand, a spiral of hellfire formed
into the hilt and scabbard of a black greatsword two meters long
which she lifted with ease using only the one hand. The Worldlore
that had previously displayed only her Succubus race now changed,
writing out Demon Queen above her head.

I nodded to Lilith,
watching her transformation, and then turned back to the others. I
had my own changes as well, but nothing so significant. On my hands
were nine rings of fire, one on each finger save for my left thumb.
This was the first of my spells, a backup mana source called the Nine
Rings of Hell. “Okay, the sun’s setting, so we should be
safe for a bit. I’ll teleport us directly to our target, and
when the battle starts I’ll try to help out as much as I can.”

Denise smiled to me,
“It’ll be alright, Jin. We’ve got five of the most
powerful demons in history helping out today.” She held a hand
out to me, which I took as I nodded to her. Thankfully, my nine rings
weren’t damaging spells, and the flames were little more than
representations.

Dariel nodded as well.
“She’s right. Have a bit more faith in us.” When I
held out my other hand, she took it without hesitation. Denise
momentarily stiffened her face when she realized what was coming
next, and then we teleported to the camp we stayed in on our first
night here, though now it was entirely overrun by trees. When I cast
the spell, the ring on my right pinky flickered a bit, but held
strong.

Immediately, both of the
women assumed their formations, the three of us standing back to back
in order to prevent the forest from attacking from a blind spot.
Dariel stood without weapon, whereas Denise had Omen in her hand and
Nightshade on her back. I had my grimoire opened, knowing that even a
moment’s hesitation could be deadly in this fight. If it
weren’t for my other two spells, I wouldn’t bother using
it. But, I had to cast the chants for these two in order for it to
work effectively.

We had to have been miles
from the base of the mountain, but still Lilith’s voice
resonated clearly around us. “On this day, the demon race has
once more seen the dawn of battle. As Demon Queen, I call forth the
champions to face this trial with me. Answer my call, Krath the
Cunning, Belial the Fierce, Dremor the Wise, and Halor the Strong.
Show your power to this world, as it has not seen in untold years.”