Another week had passed since the hide-and-seek training. Today, like every other day, I was serving as a playmate for the young dragons. Still, compared to the beginning, I was no longer just running away; I'd learned to use various tricks and traps to handle them with a bit more composure. My daily routine now consisted of tag or hide-and-seek in the morning, followed by hunting practice with the young dragons in the afternoon.
During the hunts, I learned how to catch and prepare prey alongside the whelps. There was a period where I couldn't stomach meat for a while, but it was a stark reminder of how powerful a human's appetite can be when there's nothing else to eat. I also think I did some control training for my deletion ability while playing with the young dragons, with games like aerial tag and fireball batting practice. I mostly got scorched, though.
After that, the little ones would tug on my collar, begging me to play more, and I'd end up running around with them at full tilt until nearly sunset. My stamina has definitely improved. I've had to hone my reflexes just to keep up. If I didn't, I'd die. And even if I didn't die, a moment's carelessness would lead to serious injury. What a way to live.
By the way, when I reported to Tannin that I had caught all the young dragons in hide-and-seek, he was genuinely surprised. Getting the Dragon King's jaw to drop is a pretty good memory. When he asked how I did it, I answered honestly, which earned me a sigh and a distant look, much like the ones Azazel gives. I thought it was a bit harsh, considering how hard I'd worked.
As it turned out, the growth Tannin had envisioned for me and what I had actually done were in completely different directions. He had apparently thought it would be nearly impossible for me to find the young dragons during the game. His goal was for me to use the remaining days to feel nature and grasp the sensation of becoming one with it, thereby enhancing the quality of my aura.
However, by deleting the surrounding aura, I had apparently gone full-speed in the direction of exclusion rather than unity, completely derailing his plan. To top it all off, I ended up creating a pseudo-Senjutsu. Uh, sorry about that.
"I had intended for you to learn to control your deletion power by understanding nature, allowing you to adapt to your surroundings. Instead, you became aware of your own aura and developed a mock-Senjutsu to blow it away…"
"Kana, you sometimes come up with things even more incredible than a mage," Lavinia commented.
"Um, thanks?"
"That was not a compliment," Tannin stated flatly.
Ah, yeah. I kind of figured. When I asked Tannin about the aura-like thing I had started to sense, he confirmed that it was indeed ki. I would continue training to blend this aura with my surroundings, but now that I was aware of the flow of ki, my ability to sense presences had improved. My chances of being found during hide-and-seek with the young dragons had decreased, and my detection range during tag had widened. It was still a vague sense, so it wasn't very precise yet.
"Kanata Kuramoto, do not overuse your ability to read the flow of ki. A half-baked mastery of Senjutsu can shorten your life if you make a mistake."
"...Is it because I might absorb the malicious ki and ill will drifting in the world?"
"Correct. Senjutsu is a powerful art, and for that reason, it is easy to be consumed by it. It is a technique that manipulates the very flow of life. Even if you can erase the malicious ki with your ability, a human body will eventually break down if you repeatedly take it in. I forbid you from using it for anything other than reading ki."
In other words, he was telling me not to use any techniques that manipulate the flow of ki. The physical enhancement from Senjutsu was a power I desperately wanted as a human, but I was told that if I tried, there was a ninety-five percent chance I'd fail and die. I firmly decided against it. Apparently, there are a fair number of humans who can at least read ki. Manipulating it, however, seems to be a different story.
In my case, my ability was forcibly awakened by my Sacred Gear. Even now, my understanding is extremely vague, more of a "Is this aura?" feeling. I have the knowledge from the original story, but honestly, I don't really get it. For now, my only choice is to continue training to conceal my presence and detect others. Maybe I'll understand more as I keep at it. I just have to do my best.
"By the way, Lavinia, how is the development of the spell for the egg coming along? It's been almost two weeks."
"Yes, I believe it should be complete by tomorrow. It took some time because it was a custom formula specifically for that egg."
"Ah, I'm grateful, Lavinia," Tannin said.
While I was being chased around by the young dragons, Lavinia had been diligently working on her research. She had investigated the cause of the trapped heat within the egg and constructed a spell to ensure it could hatch safely. It seems she had also taken various factors into consideration, like the growth rate of the baby inside. That was just like her, so serious and dedicated.
I spent every day playing with the young dragons until I reached my physical limit, so I basically did nothing in the ruins besides eat and sleep. I felt a little bad that I couldn't help. Her sleep-talking habits also made an appearance here, but she mostly just slept soundly alongside the young dragons. I was both relieved and felt like I was missing out. No, actually, I was just relieved.
"So, if you can cast the spell on the egg tomorrow, our job will finally be over, right?"
"That is correct."
"Finally… I can go back to the human world…"
It had been about two weeks since I came to the Underworld. Only a few days of summer vacation remained. Every day had been spent being chased by dragons, but I was finally going to be free. If I can just get through today, I won't have to see a dragon for a good long while.
I've had more than enough of being chased by multiple dragons, even if they are small. They don't hold back at all. They play with all their dragon might. And I keep telling them I'm human. I've lost count of the number of burns and broken bones I've had. If I didn't have my pseudo-recovery ability, I don't think I'd be alive.
"Tannin, am I spending today playing tag with the whelps again?"
"No, let's see… It seems you've become quite capable of handling the young dragons with room to spare."
"After being chased around for two weeks, you get used to it…" I replied with a dry smile.
But thinking that today was my last full day here made me feel a little sad. Every day had been so lively and chaotic. Maybe I should put in a little extra effort and play with them today. I rested my head on the stone table, sipping my water, and idly considered it.
"Alright then. In that case, how about a game of tag with me today? If you're leaving tomorrow, you may as well gain the experience of being chased by a fully-grown dragon."
"Run for it, Partner."
Today, I would become the wind. Using the flow of ki I had just been told not to use too much, I erased my presence, deleted gravity, and fled from the former Dragon King before me at full speed. This was a dragon who did what he said he would do. Having had his mercilessness seared into my very soul over the past two weeks, I bolted without even waiting for the signal to start.
The young dragons came swarming out, chirping, "What what, what's happening?" but I didn't have time for them today. Sorry, but for the rest of the day, I'm going to hide with everything I've got.
"What's this? Were you that eager to play tag with me? That was a good move."
"Gah?!"
"Listen up, you little ones. Today, I will show you a real game of tag. Watch closely."
"Yay, the king's playing tag!"
"I wanna see the king's breath attack!"
"Lose, Kana!"
"It's not like I'm not cheering for you or anything!"
"You brats! After I risked my life playing with you for two weeks, that's what you have to say to me?!" I wailed at the cheerfully noisy young dragons.
You all love your king so much! That's great, but I'd be happier if I weren't the target! And as usual, your treatment of me is terrible! Sure, I've gotten a lot better at tag with you guys, but that doesn't change the fact that I was getting beaten to a pulp every single day. Upgrading from young dragons to a Dragon King is just an insane difficulty spike!
"Tannin! Azazel told me at the beginning that if you trained me directly, I'd be burned to a crisp without a second thought!"
"Think back carefully to Azazel's words. He said, 'Even I know that if Tannin trained you directly, you in your current state would be burned to a crisp.' Correct?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Then it's fine. It might have been impossible for the you back then, but the you right now can probably handle it."
Oh, great Dragon King, I do believe that's called a sophism.
"Well then, let us begin. Given your current state, the time limit will be about three hours. You are welcome to counterattack, by the way. Now… run with all your might."
"..."
The next three hours were a true disaster. A new discovery I made: tears don't actually run out. He created a crater in the valley with a single fire breath and pulverized boulders with his tail. The full-power deletion attack I launched while crying my eyes out was deflected by his skin without even making contact. Not his scales, his skin. What even is that? What was all my training for? In any case, my speed, stamina, and reflexes had been considerably honed, so my only option was to rely on them and keep running.
I had enjoyed it as a gag in the original story, but I'm sorry, Issei Hyoudou. You endured this for twenty days. That's amazing. And it was around the clock, right? You had to prepare your own meals, all by yourself. I was thinking of heading to Kuoh Town after summer vacation ends, but I've decided that if I ever meet the protagonist, I'll be kind to him. So what if he's a pervert? It's better than being chased by a dragon. What's wrong with being nice to a fellow victim (to-be)?
After that hellish game of tag ended, Lavinia's kindness as she comforted me was a balm to my soul. Thank you, my goddess. I don't want to see a dragon for a long, long time.
***
"Hey, I'm here to pick you up!"
"Waaahhhh, Azazel!!"
"Wh-Whoa… What's this, Lavinia?"
"It is Kana."
"Yeah, I can see that. That's not what I was asking."
My loud sobbing and Lavinia's deadpan reply made the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels recoil.
"Tannin…"
"I assure you, I held back. The fact is, he's not dead."
That's not the point, you highest-class devil dragon!
"Ah… I see what happened. But you, you really have a knack for getting into trouble. What's this about a mock-Senjutsu?"
"I just thought, 'Maybe I can do it,' and then I kind of did."
"It's not something you just 'kind of do.' Sensing the aura within oneself and reading the flow of ki is something that normally takes years of training to grasp intuitively. But I see, so the power of deletion is capable of such a thing…"
When I reported the results of my training to Azazel, he sighed as if his head hurt. Then he started muttering to himself again. From my perspective, he was just being his usual research-obsessed self.
"I mean, it makes sense. If I can prevent others from sensing my aura, then I should also be able to delete the aura directed at me, or even select the aura within myself, right?"
"Theoretically, yes… Hey, Kanata. Don't you dare tell anyone else how you learned to sense aura."
"Huh?"
"Think about it. If your deletion method can be used to hone the senses to perceive aura, there's no way the people who covet Senjutsu would leave you alone. If just stabbing a Sacred Gear into an aura can trigger the ability to sense one's own aura, it means they could mass-produce people capable of using a mock-Senjutsu like yours."
That was a blind spot. Right, if even I could do it, then maybe others could too. But this mock-Senjutsu is only possible because I have my partner. Even now, I can't sense or hide my presence without going through my Sacred Gear. Still, it seems that being able to grasp the flow of ki is a huge advantage. Well, it is certainly convenient.
"In any case, don't use it for anything other than reading the flow of ki. And use it sparingly. In your case, it's as if you've forcibly pried open an unknown power. You haven't followed the proper steps… It would be good if we could find someone knowledgeable about Senjutsu, but I can't find someone like that on short notice."
"Understood."
So, when it came to sensing presences, more training was required. I could remember a total of five people knowledgeable about Senjutsu. Kuroka and Koneko, who possess the powerful abilities of the Nekomata. The original Sun Wukong and his descendant, Bikou. And the monk, Xuanzang Sanzang. There were probably others, but I didn't know them.
Unlike in the original story, the Three Factions were currently in a state of cold war, and I believe their relationships with the Shinto and Youkai factions were still poor. These were not people you could just casually ask to teach you Senjutsu. If I could use Touki, my stamina and fatigue problems would probably improve significantly, but it wasn't going to be that easy. For now, I'll have to be satisfied with just having become more sensitive to presences.
By the way, I did receive a passing grade from Azazel. Apparently, if I could survive being chased by Tannin for three hours, it was within an acceptable range. Yes, I seriously thought I was going to die. I never thought I'd see a mountain get blown away with my own two eyes. So that's how craters are formed. I didn't want to know.
"Kana, Governor-General. I have successfully applied the spell to the egg."
"Ah, good work, Lavinia. Thank you for your hard work."
While I was giving my report to Azazel, Lavinia had been in the egg chamber, deploying her magic. I had wanted to go see, but we decided to leave it to her so as not to disturb her concentration. I was just glad it was over without any problems.
Well, that should be the end of her job and my training. It had been an incredibly dense couple of weeks. In the span of a single one-month summer vacation, I joined the Grigori, was trained by the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, came to the Underworld to become a chew toy for young dragons, and was finally chased around by a former Dragon King. Wow, I felt like I was going to cry for a variety of reasons. My former life as a normal person seemed to shine so brightly now. Everyday life is the best.
"So, shall we head back to the human world?"
"Ah, about that. There was actually one more training exercise I wanted you two to do. We didn't get the chance, so we couldn't do it."
"Training for us?"
It wasn't just for me, but for Lavinia as well. We looked at each other and tilted our heads in confusion.
"Your teamwork. You had some practice before coming here, but you only faced small fry. What will you do when a powerful enemy appears? How will you support each other and formulate a strategy? If Kanata is returning to his normal life for a while, an opportunity for the two of you to train together like this won't come around so easily."
"I see…"
"That's true. Lavinia is busy with work, and I have school on weekdays."
We both agreed with the training Azazel proposed. An encounter with a powerful enemy. I honestly hoped it wouldn't happen, but it was a reality we couldn't ignore. If it happened without any practice, what would I do? How could I support her? I think having experienced it once before would make a huge difference.
Teamwork can't be built overnight. On weekends, I could use teleportation magic to come to the association. We could practice basic teamwork there. But I felt that still wouldn't be enough. A normal battle where you have to conserve stamina and a battle where you have to go all out to win are two completely different things.
"You two also think it's necessary, right?"
"Well, I do think it would be better to have the experience."
"I agree."
"Alright, permission granted. In that case, I'll leave the final training to you, Tannin."
"Very well. Consider it thanks for the egg and for playing with the little ones. I will lend you my chest."
Oh dear, I have a very bad feeling about this. I feel like a very ominous conversation just took place right in front of me. My body started to tremble as the terror of yesterday resurfaced. You wouldn't ask him to do something that would torment your cute student, would you, Professor? Even Lavinia, who is usually so calm, had a slightly troubled look on her face. I was drenched in a cold sweat.
"P-Professor. I'd like to do it, I really would, but it's not like powerful enemies just pop up whenever you want, right? It would be bad if we died during training. Let's just say we weren't fated to do it this time and give up."
"Rejoice, you two. The great former Dragon King himself has agreed to be your powerful enemy for your final training. Go at him with the intent of borrowing his chest, and be prepared to be crushed."
"I knew it was coming to this! We'll really be crushed! Physically crushed!"
"...Oh dear," Lavinia said.
Even Lavinia looked like she was about to pass out! I could barely even run away from him, and now you're telling me to go up against him?! Even with a magical girl Longinus wielder as my partner, facing Tannin is impossible. He's way beyond the level of a "powerful enemy." Please don't set up a match with the Dragon King so casually!
"Now then, shall we head to the open area? We'll begin after a light warm-up."
"Tannin! This is impossible, no matter how you look at it. I can't see any future where we win!"
"I am well aware of that. Therefore, any single blow will do. Land one hit on me. If you can do that, you win."
A dragon with a fearless smile and a Fallen Angel smirking behind him. Yep, these guys are evil. They're horrible people who enjoy tormenting innocent lambs. This is bad. We could end up being burned to a crisp by the Dragon King. What kind of miracle would it take to land a single blow on him?
Though confused by the sudden turn of events, I steeled myself, shot my hand up, and declared loudly.
"We request time for a strategy meeting!"
After my surprisingly bold statement left them dumbfounded for a moment, I somehow managed to get their approval.
***
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