Chapter 93: What Are You Looking At? Seiryu Is Still a Dragon!
The full party of five stood at the entrance to Seiryu's chamber.
As it turned out, there had been six doors between Byakko's Domain and this room, leading off in different directions. Five of them opened onto routes packed with traps, hazards, and dead ends. Kuwabara had simply gone with his gut and picked the second door on the right, which turned out to be the one trap-free path and the shortest route to Seiryu's chamber.
For him it had been even easier than making choices in Trick Tower.
Reflecting its slightly elevated rank, Seiryu's chamber had a metal door, flanked on both sides by a pair of lifelike flying dragon sculptures.
And because they had just experienced a lava sauna in Byakko's Domain, the cold air leaking from the door's seams gave everyone immediate goosebumps. The sensation was exactly like opening the door to a large industrial freezer at a meat processing plant: cold air pouring out in a wave, deeply unpleasant.
At the same time, the figure standing at the center of the large empty room turned to face them.
A man in a strange Chinese martial arts combat robe, the entire upper half decorated with a sweeping Chinese dragon motif that coiled around his body, was watching them with an expression reserved for dead people.
This was Seiryu, the third of the Four Saint Beasts.
There was almost no trace of animal characteristics on him. Aside from his skin carrying the blue-pale color of someone who had been frozen for a very long time, he was completely human in form.
Which was, indirectly, its own kind of evidence. Within demon society, the degree to which a demon had taken human form was apparently quite important.
"Lord Suzaku is extremely displeased with your actions... however, your journey ends here."
Seiryu's tone, maintaining that fully human form, was noticeably calmer than either Genbu or Byakko had been. But he spoke in exactly the same register as both of them: entirely condescending, looking down from a height he had decided was his by default.
His own side's BOSS units had been falling one after another, and he still radiated "I'm the strongest," "none of you are my match," "you only killed Genbu and Byakko through luck." The full set.
Honestly, even with his complete knowledge of the original story, Ross couldn't work out where this confidence was coming from.
"You look confused."
Noticing Ross's expression, the specific variety of physiological distaste one gets from finding a fly in one's food, Kurama thought it over for a moment, understood, and started explaining in a conversational tone.
"First: many demons face humans with the mindset of a predator. They believe they sit higher on the food chain as a matter of fact.
Second: demons like these have no real sense of comradeship. Don't let the Four Saint Beasts name fool you. Given the right conditions, any of them would turn on the others without hesitation.
As for the last reason..."
"Obviously, because I am stronger than all of you."
Seiryu, who had been listening to the whole thing, stated this as though it were simply the natural conclusion.
He clearly agreed with Kurama's analysis. Or rather: this was what proper interaction between demons looked like. A demon like Kurama, who had integrated completely into human society, was the rarest kind of exception.
Almost simultaneously, Ross heard what sounded like three distinct snaps. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei all had visible veins rising at their temples.
"Hey. I'm not going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Yusuke cracked his knuckles, expression flat.
"Has no one ever told you not to make promises you can't keep?"
Nen was stirring around Kuwabara.
"You humans are too hypocritical. Only I actually intend to kill him."
Hiei's hand was already resting on the sword at his hip.
But at that moment, Ross had shifted his attention to the Navigation Arrow overhead, turning back toward the entrance they had come through. Something was producing the very specific sound of a heavily damaged body being dragged across a floor.
The door was pushed open with some effort.
The Byakko appeared. Covered in severe burns across his entire body, many areas cooked thoroughly through.
"Seiryu! Help me! Please! Just give me a little demon energy!"
He had survived the Killer Queen Spirit Gun explosion at full power, but the lava's sustained damage had done its work. The Byakko was cooked inside and out, and with survival instinct running at full capacity, he couldn't even register that Ross's group was standing right there.
"He's actually still alive. That's genuinely impressive."
Even Yusuke looked faintly admiring.
Faced with his "companion's" desperate request for help, Seiryu's choice was this:
"Idiot. Disgrace. You don't deserve to survive."
Exactly as Kurama had described. Seiryu berated the Byakko and dropped into a fighting stance: one foot forward, fist drawn back and loading.
The temperature began dropping sharply again.
Just seeing Seiryu take that stance was enough to make the Byakko visibly tremble, and not only from the cold. He knew Seiryu wasn't speaking for effect. The killing intent was real.
"Take this! Demon Battle-"
"Hey."
Seiryu hadn't finished the technique name before he saw Ross, standing further back, make a sharp throwing motion. What left Ross's hand was a long spear of unfamiliar material, carrying no trace of Nen at all.
Seiryu's lip curled. He prepared to ignore it entirely and deal with the Byakko first. Then:
Crack.
The spear passed through Seiryu's body, a body that ordinary swords and blades could barely scratch, as easily as a hot chopstick through butter, punching clean through and leaving a wound open enough to see the wall behind him.
The blood that sprayed out froze instantly into fragments of blood-ice that scattered across the floor. The freezing energy Seiryu had been building dissipated at the same moment.
Thud.
Seiryu's knees hit the ground. He tried to raise his hand and say something. The words never came. His head dropped forward onto the floor. The Byakko, whose mouth had not managed to close at any point during this sequence, flinched once. Then there was silence.
Ross's Navigation Arrow, clearly sensing a BOSS death, was already preparing to work.
Seiryu: fallen.
"Ro..."
Not just the Byakko was frozen in place. Even the rest of the party found what they had just watched incomprehensible.
Ross, for his part, was reviewing the Dragon-Slaying Spear's system text in his head.
[Dragon-Slaying Spear: Grade A Nen tool, Spear type, consumable. From Tower of Druaga. Acquisition condition: "Touch the door leading to the upper floor on Floor 57 without carrying a key, then defeat the Enchantress and Lizardman on that floor."
A special weapon capable of one-hit killing dragon-type units. Its primary purpose is as the nemesis of Five-Colored Dragons and Metal Dragons, but also takes effect against other dragon-type units.
Using this spear can one-hit kill Five-Colored Dragons or Metal Dragons; can deal massive damage to other dragon-type units; after killing any dragon-type unit, the Dragon-Slaying Spear shatters automatically.]
Seiryu... is still a dragon.