Chapter 388 Belief.
The day came when the whole world would witness something unbelievable in the current era: the birth of Dragon, and multiple Awakeners all over the world would gather to raid the beast.
For the past few days, the Dragon has been doing nothing while sleeping or standing still while looking up at the sunlight, and it seems relaxed.
However, one thing that people don't realize is that when a dragon gets older and every passing count, its intellect becomes more shaped, and its awareness about its surroundings becomes clearer.
Around the barrier that surrounded the Dragon, people gathered; many of them were awakeners.
Within the Japanese group, Hiroshi was looking at his own Katana, checking whether the equipment was ready for the raid. Beside him, Hisako kept looking toward the barrier, specifically to the Dragon, who, as usual, stood still.
The world is smiling, a clear sky with white clouds swimming freely above. Because of the approaching winter, the air was a bit chilly, and many of the awakened who hated the season stayed inside their tent covered by a lot of cloth.
"Hisako what's wrong?".
Hiroshi sheathed his Katana and approached Hisako from behind; he touched his wife's shoulder, pulling her attention close.
"No, I just…".
'...I had a bad feeling about all of this!'. Hisako hesitated to continue her phrase, fearing that the other Awakaners would hear her statement, which seemed like cowering in front of a threat.
As a person who walked the path of Awakeners, Hisako knew well that those statements would insult the people around her, not to mention herself. The path she already takes and crawls with tears and blood would be tarnished by her earlier speech.
"...Wondering how Soma is doing right now?".
Hiroshi, who understood what his wife thought, smiled softly before squeezing her shoulder tight.
"Soma, not Hina?". He playfully teased his wife, which prompted a glare from her.
"What stupid thing you asked, of course I worry about my daughter but now she is in the safe place where Xiao family is. Instead of that, I am worried about Soma who barely contacted us and the government also prohibited everyone who wanted to visit him. I am wondering about his condition, that's all".
"I see, well, I also could relate to that".
"Right? He had done so much for us, but when at a time like this we were powerless. they told us that he was fine but the responses they gave were a bit suspicious".
When the two and everyone around were busy with their own maintenance of weapons and some sort, there was a movement from the Dragon.
Its colossal body, which seemed to grow every day, alarmed the awakeners around the barriers. Many of the awakeners began to clear out the place from paparazzi who stubbornly wanted to keep picturing the legendary creature.
The Dragon spread its massive black wings, and with one clap, the rubble blasted away, and the Dragon kept moving its wings around as if warming itself.
"Hisako!?"
"Yeah, let's go!".
All awakens who act as representatives from all over the world begin to tense themselves when they see the view.
Slow but steady, the Dragon's feet left the ground, while its wing worked harder than before; the Dragon was getting used to it, and with one last clap, its massive body shot upward like a rocket.
The rising Dragon was so fast, and the four master barriers from China intensified the power within the barrier; it glowed with multiple colours to prevent the Dragon from escaping.
However, the Dragon, seeing the barrier glowing, kept maintaining its speed ahead before a collision happened, and a loud 'Doom' resounded because the Dragon had just hit something invisible.
"Rooaarrr!".
Enraged, the Dragon began to use its strength to swoop its massive claws to tear the barrier down. Upon contact, the barrier shook, and intense 'shrieking' from the barrier greatly stirred everyone's heart.
Panic began to spread around the paparazzi, and they began to pack their important things and flee the scene. Different from them, the awakeners began to step forward, ready with their respective weapons.
"Rooarr!".
Again, the Dragon strengthened its hand, but now it was different. A black, ominous aura began to cover its whole body, gathering into a single point on its hand.
A cracking sound resonated within everyone's ears, but when everyone in the place had put their heart into fighting the beast, the Dragon roared out loud. A few seconds later, its body bounced from the barrier, giving the awakeners around a sigh of relief.
"Rroooaaarrr!".
This time, the Dragon was completely enraged. It began bombarding the barrier, but none of its attacks worked. As soon as there is a crack, it repairs itself, and each time it repairs, the barrier becomes thicker.
From the blindside corner of the building, two people wearing black robes, all females they saw through the barrier, looked at the Dragon, who struggled to escape. The female behind leaned against the wall and opened her mouth.
"How was it?".
"The dragon is completely isolated, but soon it will break".
The woman who saw the event turned her gaze back and looked toward the lady wearing a robe behind.
"Let the beast caged, when its rage had accumulated enough, the people in this country would know how fearsome it is to think they could hold off a Dragon and the Demonic one at that".
"Right…".
She turned to look toward the barrier once more before resuming the mission that had been given.
"Where should we go next, Anna?".
Hearing the name that came out from the lady on the walls, Anna halted her steps and opened her mouth.
"I think we already have enough grudges piling up across the country. We will commence the trial of opening a Gate."
"Understood, as instructed, I will follow you".
"Yes, thank you very much, Lady Superbia".
*****
Meanwhile, on the other side of the chaotic place, inside one of the private houses within the Xiao Family, the residence had undoubtedly risen.
Inside, there is the usual Hina's party, Xiao Luan and Xiao Rui. There is also Lin Fan, Lin Jia, who comes every day to atone for his wrongdoing along with Leon's group. The place turned rowdy just a few days after Soma had gone.
Also in the centre of all of this was Viana, who bowed her head ninety degrees, facing all the people who had a connection with Soma, glaring at the figure they called Witch.
Outside, there is the figure of the Xiao family head, Xiao Long, who was forbidden entry by his wife and Xiao Lian. He was kept being monitored by Xiao Bai, who had a cramped smile on her face.
"Let me make things clear here!?".
Hina suddenly raised her voice in this silent yet heavy atmosphere. She calmly faced Viana while standing behind Xiao Luan as the house head.
"Yes, what is it, student Hina?".
"Is Soma aware of any of this you have told us? Is he letting everything go as you planned?".
Xiao Lian and Serafina beside her nodded their heads. They want to know what kind of Soma is feeling in any of this. Viana sighed and began to open her mouth.
Thanks to her space magic mastery, she already cast a barrier spell that could prevent any leak outside so she could talk freely in this place.
"Yes, with all due respect from me to Soma, yes, he is willing to follow my plan".
"I see".
Hina sighed; she couldn't understand what kind of thinking he had to let himself be played like this.
"Where is he currently and what is he currently doing?".
Xiao Lian interjected strongly from the side, startling the other who had never seen her so emotional like that.
"I'm afraid I couldn't quite understand what he was in…".
"Mm, What do you mean by that? Depending on your answer I would not hesitate here".
Xiao Lian, whose patience is running low, summons her blue spear, covering the whole place with a thin mist. Serafin also summons her grimoire, which Viana is startled to look at. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire
As someone who pursues magical potential more than any other, she knows the existence of that item. It was one of her long dreams to obtain one. However, all the years she spent searching for it was for nothing until she found it in the hands of one of her students.
"Quit with that trickery of you, Old hag! You know better if you mess with me, right!?".
Serafina, who had also been quite cornered for the past few days, summoned her grimoire. Her eyes turned blood red. An ominous presence began to possess her, frightening everyone around.
"Lian'er you…".
"Both of you stop!".
Before Xiao Lian could reprimand her daughter, Hina abruptly held the two girls behind her and let the tension in the room eased a bit.
"Please elaborate more about what Soma has been doing?".
At first, Xiao LIan and Serafina glared at Hina's back, but upon seeing her clenched fists, both girls' heads cooled down, and the two could see blood begin to fall down into the carpet below.
"Hmm, I don't quite sure myself. Aside from eating and sleeping. He always sat in the corner regulating his breath periodically, while occasionally I could see a little bit of crimson aura covering his body…".
When Everyone tilted their heads in wonder, only Lin Fan reacted; his eyes opened wide. However, he soon fixed them and never let the place know what he was thinking.
"...Then I happened to see him from the monitor, when he sat still while doing some seal gesture using his own hands. I don't know. Perhaps you guys know what he was doing?".
"Well, okay. Thank you for the explanation." Hina expressed her gratitude and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmm, do you happen to know what he was doing?". Viana posed a question when she was uncertain about what he was doing.
The three girls who developed feelings for him nodded their heads in understanding. A bit of relief washed away the tension within their heart, and they answered simultaneously.
"""He is Preparing something for sure!""".