Arcane Sniper

Chapter 956

Leeha hadn’t neglected planning Bahamut’s retreat.

After understanding Lark’s true intentions, one of his instructions to Blaugrunn had been to retreat safely with Bahamut.

However, they had been delaying due to the ‘necessary item’ still not being ready.

Of course, with Bahamut genuinely taking a hit as he had just now, there was no more time to delay or try anything else.

Blaugrunn found Raphaela, then teleported Bahamut, Alexander, who had his 〈Fusion〉 skill forcibly deactivated, and Bailephus back to Bahamut’s lair.

After confirming their complete disappearance, Leeha reassured Shin Nara.

― “Thank you, Nara! I’ll act in line with Lark’s ‘operation’ too!”

― “Huh? Operation? Do you know what Lark is thinking, Leeha?”

― “That’s something we need to ask from now! Maybe he’s over there!”

Leeha’s eyes were fixed on one spot. Bahamut had fully retreated.

Then, who would move next?

By Tiamat’s head, a dragon was flying towards its waist area instead.

‘Onyx.’

While the other chromatic dragons were busy subduing the leaderless metal dragons, the elder chromatic dragon was retreating towards Tiamat’s waist?!

Almost no user noticed the unnatural movement.

But Leeha did.

It was opponent movement he had ‘already read’.

Leeha alternated between using 〈Eagle’s Eye〉 and a scope to closely observe Onyx’s movements.

Tiamat’s shield, which even spririts of destruction could barely pierce for a second, was split effortlessly by Onyx. Even Tiamat’s tentacles did not hinder the approach of the Black Dragon.

‘…… Is that even possible?! Because he’s a chromatic dragon― as he’s originally Tiamat’s subordinate, he has such authority―.’

Onyx likely knew.

Even if it was impossible, he would have used the confusion of the battlefield to gain such authority from Tiamat.

Why would Tiamat need protection when she was almost invulnerable to proper damage from anyone?

Even so, Onyx would have convinced her through various means.

More precisely, it was the ‘one behind’ Onyx who had done so.

A lavender light sparkled beside Onyx. Before it even faded, ‘that person’ began sprinting towards Tiamat’s head.

“Lark!”

* * *

Leeha finally saw Lark dashing with rainbow streaks trailing. Onyx was also lowering his posture, following behind him.

‘It’s still working for now, right!? Damn, but why is whisper mode still―.’

Lark was still in whisper mode.

Is this the end? Will Lark just use that sword to kill Tiamat?

‘That’s the best outcome. Just kill Tiamat right here, and the moment Tiamat’s shield disappears, I’ll snipe Onyx― and the chromatic dragons will be defeated. Without even using ‘that item’― we can win.’

Although the Demon King’s Fragments remained, they could likely handle them too.

Maybe when Tiamat died, all the chromatic dragons would retreat, and with the metal dragons, even the Demon King’s Fragments wouldn’t dare advance recklessly.

‘…… That easily?’

What Onyx wanted was Tiamat’s death.

He wanted to secure his position through it.

If Tiamat died while Bahamut was defeated, would Onyx’s desire be fulfilled?

‘Wait…… What, wait a minute.’

Now Lark and Onyx were standing still. Leeha’s thoughts also paused.

That’s it? Is that how it ends?

Leeha could see Lark’s actions. Lark had raised his sword but did not immediately stab Tiamat with it.

That odd hesitation. Lark was hesitating to attack Tiamat.

Had all the elements not been set up yet?

‘No… that’s not it. Something’s wrong.’

That couldn’t be. By the time he persuaded Onyx, everything should have been set up already.

Then why didn’t he attack?

Onyx was still in his dragon form, appearing to urge Lark on.

The hesitation from Lark and the urging from Onyx gave Leeha a sense of discord.

‘There’s no way Onyx wouldn’t know Bahamut’s condition. At the very least, he should know that Bahamut isn’t dead. He’d think Bahamut is in a condition severe enough that he can’t influence the battlefield anymore.’

That’s why he summoned Lark at this timing, isn’t it?

But would that be enough?

‘Onyx is undoubtedly a strong dragon. He must be as powerful as Bailephus or even stronger. But if Bahamut were still alive… as long as there’s a chance for Bahamut to recover his strength, Onyx’s position would remain unstable, wouldn’t it?’

Killing Tiamat and then suddenly leading the chromatic dragons to invade Bahamut’s lair?

Even with Bahamut and Bailephus out of the way, even with Blaugrunn, who supports them, retreating from the frontlines, there are still quite a few metal dragons left.

That means they wouldn’t be able to quickly reform the panicked chromatic dragons to contend with the metal dragons.

Leeha didn’t see that as a high possibility. Onyx wasn’t that kind of dragon.

‘Yes, Onyx isn’t that kind of dragon! He doesn’t take risks!’

He’d want a perfect and certain opportunity for suppression.

More than anything, he’d want not just a temporary advantage but for himself, as a dragon individual, to grow stronger.

What does that mean?! Leeha was certain.

“Damn it, there must be something! The moment Tiamat is killed—there must be some structure where Onyx becomes stronger!”

While the method was unknown, the result was clear.

Because there was something where Tiamat’s death and Onyx’s strength were proportional, Lark was hesitating to attack!

Leeha looked at Lark.

Lark was gesturing towards Onyx.

Onyx took one step after another towards Lark, standing over Tiamat’s main body.

Even though Leeha couldn’t see Lark’s mouth, he could sense the tension between Lark and Onyx.

“Phew…”

Leeha steadied his breathing. He needed to grasp the situation.

How serious was it? Could Tiamat actually be killed? How far was Lark’s plan devised?

What should I do?

The muzzle of Black Bass adjusted its angle.

From Leeha’s position, the muzzle tilted approximately 33 degrees upwards. If a straight line were drawn, it would reach Lark and Onyx.

“Haah… I’m throwing it.”

He rolled the dice.

Leeha carefully cast his skill.

“〈Multi-Warhead Shot〉.”

BAM────────!

Fifty bullets struck Tiamat’s shield.

The noise of the flying bullets and the impact of them striking the shield were enough to alert those standing over Tiamat’s body.

At that moment, Leeha received a whisper.

— “Ha Leeha! Damn it! I knew you’d notice!”

Before Leeha could respond, Lark started running on Tiamat’s back.

―Lark―

―But I can’t say much. The moment I whisper, I’ll be attacked! This is the reason, damn it, you understand!? Ugh!

Onyx was attacking Lark. Running, Lark created a shield with the skill from his sword to block the magic or dodged hurriedly by rolling, barely avoiding it.

Leeha could see in an instant what was happening.

The reason why Lark had never whispered to anyone before, nor allowed Shin Nara, who was close by, to whisper.

‘He can read whispers!?’

It was one of the techniques that Pyrot-Cocri had shown once! There was a Demon King’s Fragment that could read who was being whispered to and even the contents of the whispers! It wasn’t surprising that Onyx was using it.

Onyx wouldn’t have completely trusted Lark. The cunning Black Dragon would have only tried to use Lark and placed some kind of safety measure to ensure he couldn’t betray him.

By accompanying Shin Nara, Lark showed to users, including Leeha, that he hadn’t betrayed the human side, while to Onyx, he assured his control over his whispers and the presence of Shin Nara as a ‘hostage’ of sorts.

‘But why couldn’t he talk to Bobae in reality?’

If whispers were intercepted, communication in reality should suffice.

Leeha wondered momentarily why even that hadn’t been allowed but had no time to ask now.

Lark was running with all his might from Onyx, and it seemed impossible for him to hold back the enraged Ancient Black Dragon alone.

―Lark! So!? What’s the plan? Can you kill Tiamat with that sword―

―I can gather the Dragon Heart! Tiamat is a creature that doesn’t possess a Dragon Heart, so accordingly, it’s designed to be impossible to kill in― Argh!

―What?

―This sword can summon Tiamat’s Dragon Heart in the area it pierces! In that state, if I use this sword skill… it’s the end for Tiamat. It’s simple! Though, just piercing it is challenging enough― Agh!

A dragon without a Dragon Heart. Leeha recalled seeing Blaugrunn and Kuzgunak’sh for the first time. Kuzgunak’sh revived even when his head was smashed.

Because his Dragon Heart was intact, it wouldn’t die; without the destruction of the Dragon Heart, the Dragon wouldn’t die.

‘But there’s no Heart? This is insane―.’

It was as good as being designed to be unkillable! And considering the difficulty of ‘piercing’ that sword into Tiamat, it was almost as if Middle Earth had created this monster as a practical joke.

―What about Onyx then? If Tiamat dies, would Onyx’s state change or―

―This is insane! Do you really get that far? I’m at a loss for words here. Ha Leeha, you’ve got some really disheartening traits.

―This isn’t the time for that! Just explain quickly!

―Tiamat’s death and Onyx’s empowerment happen simultaneously! Onyx doesn’t turn into Tiamat but can absorb part of the energy from the shattered Dragon Heart! Can you imagine how powerful he’d get if he absorbs just 30% of this twisted worm’s power? I really went through some tough times to get this Dragon Elder in line―

―Skip the useless talk! So! What are we going to do?

―What else! You know better, Ha Leeha! Pierce it, casting time is 15 seconds. Then immediate activation! Dragon Heart begins to collapse, Onyx starts to absorb! Then Ha Leeha―

Clang―!

Lark cut off Onyx’s tail with his sword. He massaged his tingling wrist for a moment and finished whispering to Leeha.

―Do what you do best, Ha Leeha.

TL’s Corner:
What a convoluted scenario.