Chapter 52: Kaiju Whisperer... Song of Kaijus
"What the hell is with that kid? He's unbelievably strong! Is he a B-rank adventurer or an Exorcist?" the stranger Alchemist asked in awe after watching Ruthar take down every single dragon one after the other.
He wasn't the only one surprised. Troma and, to some extent, Taraha were as well.
'Wasn't it Ruthar who just struggled to take down one dragon? He gets unbelievably stronger from every battle,' Troma thought, shifting his gaze back to Taraha, who had just finished drinking the potion he gave her.
Her recovery took only a few seconds before her complexion returned to normal, and her entire wing was healed.
"Potions are more reliable than magic," the stranger Alchemist mused.
However, they weren't in the mood for idle talk.
"Now that I'm back," Taraha said, sitting up and staring at the battlefield, "there's no time to keep on talking..."
"I know, there is a barrier over us. We are trapped here with whoever wants to kill us. Worse still, the civilians will get caught in the crossfire," Troma speculated. It was a great plan. The person who wanted them trapped must have used the first dragon as a diversion to raise the barrier.
"Um, Alchemist, can you tell us about this city and any secret escape routes we can use to get the people to safety?" Taraha asked sternly, showing no emotion toward the stranger.
The Alchemist cleared his throat, bowing his head slightly. "First of all, I am Jinho. I can think of three escape routes, but I'd like to add something else."
"What's that?"
"Every Alchemist in the city knows about these three exits. All I need you to do is protect them from the dragons as they get out," Jinho explained.
Taraha nodded after a short thought before turning to Troma, who awaited her next orders.
"We'll listen and help you under one condition. I'll tell you after we're done with all this, assuming you survive."
Jinho was relieved yet somewhat petrified by her harsh tone and statement.
"Sister Tara!" Ruthar called out, running in from his battle and hugging Taraha tightly. "Thank goodness you're alright."
Taraha smiled, patting Ruthar softly on his arm. She felt the same relief. "You really are like a dragon, getting stronger with every fight. I'm really proud, but we have a matter at hand now, and I'm going to need you, Ruthar."
Ruthar broke off his embrace and nodded with a determined look. How could he refuse a request from Taraha?
Troma prompted Jinho to speak more about the escape routes, and Jinho explained their locations and how they looked.
The escape routes were tunnels that ran through the deep crevices of the city and out into the forest.
"When we're done helping you, we'll have enough time to deal with whoever is attacking us," Taraha said, turning around and pointing Troma to the closest escape route.
She gave Troma the closest one so he could leave his post to help Ruthar if needed. According to the plan, she pointed Ruthar to the next one, which wasn't too far from Troma's escape route. She took upon herself the farthest route.
Ruthar looked worried, not for himself, but about being split up from the others. "See you all alive in one piece."
He waved them off and watched as Taraha and Troma raced off at incredible speed to their missions.
'I guess I have to go too.'
Ruthar assumed a sprinting stance he was all too familiar with and burst into a sprint across the streets.
He headed in the direction pointed to by Jinho. Sometimes the streets changed from the path he was supposed to follow, forcing him to pass tight corners. Other times, he jumped onto the rooftops and continued that way until he was forced to go back to the streets.
From what he could see, dozens of dragons were in the air, raining down flames on the city. He couldn't reveal himself or attack the dragons as they were too far away, so he tried to maintain a low profile.
So far, all he saw were people racing in the same direction as him. Others panicked and hid in their houses, probably thinking hiding there would be more beneficial than escaping through the routes.
As he continued, he spotted a large green dragon at the end of a street, munching down on the head of an Alchemist who had tried to ward it off with potion attacks.
The dragon roared as it faced the other two Alchemists, who panicked after witnessing their friend's head being chewed off.
One of them threw a vial of red potion, which hit the monster, causing a small explosion that barely fazed it.
The dragon roared again, its throat glowing green, preparing to release a dangerous blast upon them.
Before it could, a rock spike grew from the ground beneath it, lodging deeply into its wings.
This stunned the dragon. Before it could recover, another attack was upon it. A blast of wind hit its side, sending it staggering back a few feet. As it staggered, the rock spike tore through its wing, causing a wave of blood to rain down.
The dragon let out an ear-piercing shriek, its expression faltering to one of fear and insecurity. Its attacker wasn't done yet.
Ruthar catapulted from the ground, raising his sword high overhead and giving a battle cry. "DIEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
His sword sent out a red surge as he brought it down on the dragon's cranium, splitting it apart with one slash.
"Hugh!" Ruthar sighed, wiping the sweat from his head. "Even with Adaptability, I still sweat like hell."
He looked down at the two Alchemists, who were already running to safety.
"Man, that was close. Something is really wrong about this attack. First, I don't get why no one is heading to the escape route. Second, the attackers..." Ruthar pondered. "Wait, is it the attackers' plan to split us up to take us out more easily?"
'That explains a lot. Could it be that Jinho guy tricked us? He might be working for our attackers. But Sister Taraha should realize this... Troma would listen simply to her orders...'
"Wait, is Taraha sending us away from the battle so she can take on the attackers on her own?" Everything was falling into place. This had been a rotten trick or so.
"I need to get to Taraha."
Meanwhile;
The Kaiju Whisperer stood upon the primordial dragon, which had settled in the midst of the kingdom.
She grinned out of nowhere, sensing what was coming. "According to plan, come here first daughter of the Darkdawn house..."
"I'll kill you first."
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