0p0 #163 - Section 163
#163 - Section 163
Upon contact, the two kitchen knives shattered instantly due to the extreme speed of their strikes, silver metal fragments flashing a cold light in the dimly lit cellar.
On the other side, the Dragon Girl seemed to feel the same.
Instinctively, the Dragon Girl reacted in the same way, using her fingers as a blade, striking in the same stance.
A hint of disbelief flashed in the Dragon Girl's eyes: "This is... 'Father's' sword technique."
"Ais, Wiene, what are you doing?"
Ais and the Dragon Girl—Wiene—stopped simultaneously, turning to look at Wei Gong.
"'Father'!"
Little Ais only managed to utter the words "Master," the rest of the words instantly stuck in her throat.
But these words swirled in her mind, ultimately unspoken, because they seemed too frivolous.
These reasons, these words, could not compare to the weight of Wiene's cry of "Father."
From the simplest possibility, the idea that a newborn life might recognize someone they just met as "Father" due to some reason is plausible.
However, as soon as this thought surfaced, she quickly dismissed it herself.
Ah!
With Master's overwhelming power, capturing a mere Dragon Girl would be easy, right?
Blind faith in Wei Gong's strength plunged Ais into a huge shock.
The more Ais thought about it, the more she felt that this was the truth.
Ais looked at Wiene, she originally thought that she, as a half-elf and half-human hybrid, was a very unique existence, but who exactly are you?!
Ais looked at Wei Gong with complex emotions welling up in her heart.
Wei Gong: ...Do you really understand?
Ais clenched her hands tightly, her heart filled with contradictory and complex emotions. Wiene might be a hybrid of a monster and a human... this thought lingered in her mind.
"Ugh... my hand hurts..."
She had undoubtedly lost in the hand-to-hand combat with Wiene just now.
This was even before Wiene's arm was covered in dragon scales; the difference in physical strength was still so obvious.
Ais subconsciously widened her eyes warily, staring at Wiene's every move.
"You call 'Father'... 'Master'..."
Wiene didn't understand the specific meaning of the term "Master," but guessed that it might be similar to "Father."
246
Chapter 246: Ais's Grand Plan.
Countless white crystals growing in the center of the ceiling began to emit a soft light, and the surrounding blue crystals gradually increased in brightness, scattering more and more warm white light over the forest and the great plains, and the entire floor became brighter.
Indeed, Ais had an extreme aversion to monsters, especially dragon-type monsters, there was no doubt about that.
From that moment on, this hatred was deeply rooted in her heart and could not be erased.
But on the other hand, Ais also respected Wei Gong.
Moreover, part of her feelings for Wei Gong were a projection of her feelings for Riveria.
Therefore, when she faced Wiene, the Dragon Girl whom Wei Gong was unwilling to harm, who called Wei Gong "Father," and even called her "Sister," complex emotions welled up in Ais's heart.
Not long ago, Wiene was seriously injured, especially a wound with a "incurable" curse, and Wei Gong projected [PainBreaker] to heal her injury.
Her extremely resilient body, incredibly hard dragon scales, and possibly high-speed flying dragon wings... all of this proclaimed the powerful strength of the dragon race as the pinnacle of monsters.
"How strong would she be if she were in perfect condition? If she continues to grow, to what extent will she reach..."
"It would be such a waste to defeat her now."
Ais's mind became clear.
"Waiting until I reach Lv.6, or even Lv.7, and then kill her, that would be a better choice."
The girl thought in her heart.
Wiene, draped in a bedsheet, sat to one side, looking at Ais with some confusion and curiosity.
She picked up an apple from the porcelain plate and handed it to Ais: "'Sister,' this is for you."
Wei Gong coughed softly and asked, "Wiene, who were you fighting before? Was it... human adventurers?"
Wei Gong: "Red hair? Wearing masks? Not human?"
Wiene nodded and continued, "Yes... they eat beast hearts... not human... very strong."
She seemed to be saying that those "not human" guys were carrying out some evil activities deep in the dungeon, and Wiene destroyed their stronghold.
Wiene thought for a while and nodded, saying, "In... the place from before..."
"Wait a minute!"
Wei Gong immediately reached out and pressed her down, signaling her to calm down.
Ais nodded, watching Wei Gong leave the room, and that feeling of unease and contradiction began to surge again in her heart.
Ais subconsciously placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, her fingertips gently tapping the scabbard, maintaining vigilance.
Seeing this, Wiene's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded.
Wiene nodded again, obviously full of trust in Wei Gong.
He opened the bag and took out a round object from it.
It was a sphere about the size of two hands clasped together, with a strange luster on its surface.
Seeing this scene, Ais's pupils suddenly contracted. The fetus's body was small and round, but it had disproportionately large eyes, staring at them from above.
Although it stayed there quietly without any movement, a faint pulse of thumping could be faintly heard from the orb.
Ais also stared at the orb, her intuition telling her that this thing was not ordinary, but she couldn't understand what it represented.
The dragon girl's movements were surprisingly practiced. As Aiz watched her stance, a jolt went through her.
That movement…it was so familiar.
At that moment, her thoughts briefly froze.
Aiz glanced at the broken eating knife in her hand and immediately tossed it aside, using her hand as a sword to stab at the dragon girl.
At the instant their hands clashed, a shocking thought surged in Aiz's mind: "This is…'Master's' swordsmanship."
Just at that moment—
Shirou's voice came from the cellar entrance.
"Master, there are monsters here! Quickly project a weapon…"
Aiz had originally wanted to shout that.
Weine shouted it first.
Aiz had so much she wanted to say.
She wanted to say, "Monsters are the enemy of humans," wanted to say, "Many of our comrades have died because of monsters," wanted to say, "Monsters are destined to harm humans," and so on.
Aiz felt a violent tremor within her heart.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and began to think carefully, setting aside the questions of why the monster could speak, why it possessed the same emotions as humans.
Aiz thought, feeling that this seemed like a reasonable explanation.
Because, that person was Master—[Female Hunter].
After all, even Liliruca, who was more terrifying than a monster, had been won over by Master, hadn't she?
"Moreover, she really does use Master's swordsmanship…"
Weine's swordsmanship was exactly the same as Master's, and that couldn't be a coincidence.
Shirou explained: "I also don't know why this child calls me 'Father,' nor do I know what kind of being she is…But I really can't ignore her."
She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she only softly replied: "Master, you don't need to explain, I…I understand."
As a half-elf, half-human hybrid, she felt a sense of shared fate at that moment.
Aiz gritted her teeth, a look of pain on her face.
It wasn't because Aiz's swordsmanship wasn't refined enough, but because her physical strength was far inferior to her opponent's.
Just as she was secretly regretting it, Weine suddenly leaned in and gently took her hand.
However, Weine only held Aiz's hand and blew on her injured finger.
She asked, "So, you are…'Jiejie'?"
Aiz's heart, already under intense shock, became even more confused.
The crystal sky on the 18th floor was gradually transitioning from "night" to "day."
"Rivira Town" was about to be enveloped in the dawn.
Shirou, Aiz, and Weine, the two people and one dragon, had stayed up all night, and were now hiding in Shirou's room.
At this time, Shirou's mood was a little awkward, and Aiz's emotions were even more complicated. She simply didn't know how to face Weine.
This deep hatred stemmed from the tragedy of her childhood—the one-eyed black dragon that destroyed her family and killed her parents.
Shirou had always been very good to her, giving her meticulous care and guidance.
In fact, Liliruca was the person who had spent the longest time with her in her life, almost her most important family member.
Aiz's gaze swept towards Weine, and she couldn't help but wonder: "When her injuries heal and her stamina recovers, will I be her match?"
Moreover, she had exhausted her stamina in the previous battle and seemed to have used some kind of special move, causing her to be severely overdrawn, and she was now in a weakened state.
But even so, Weine still showed amazing strength.
What surprised Aiz even more was that Weine also knew swordsmanship.
Although she didn't know many sword moves yet, and they were very simple.
However, the swordsmanship imitated from Shirou was already a technique at the pinnacle of the world, and Weine even possessed learning abilities.
This thought swirled in Aiz's mind until she suddenly realized something—
Such a powerful monster was undoubtedly a Great Feat-level enemy, and should be a challenge target when ascending to a higher level in the future.
Aiz's gaze returned to Weine: "That's right…as my future Great Feat, for now, I'll spare her life."
Aiz glanced at the apple in Weine's hand, hesitated for a moment, and shook her head, not taking it.
Hearing this question, Aiz also looked up, her eyes fixed on Weine.
Weine thought for a while, trying to answer in human language: "One…red hair, and one…wearing a mask…They…not human."
The dragon girl tried hard to describe it, while Shirou and Aiz listened, half understanding.
The dragon girl also stole something important, and was therefore being chased.
Shirou: "You're being chased because you stole something, right?"
As she spoke, she wanted to stand up and run outside, as if to take them to find that thing.
He looked back at Aiz: "Aiz, please watch her, I'll go to the cellar to look for it."
After Shirou left, only Aiz and Weine were left in the room, facing each other, big eyes to small eyes.
Before long, Shirou returned to the room, holding a cloth bag in his hand: "Is this it?"
Shirou's gaze was calm, and after thinking for a while, he asked: "Can I open it and take a look?"
Shirou slowly opened the cloth bag, revealing a smaller bag, the mouth of the bag was tied tightly, and it looked a bit old.
This was a green gem, a transparent film wrapped around the liquid inside—and within the liquid, there was actually a strange fetus.
The fetus had hair on its head, symbolizing femininity, and the hair extended from the head to the front of the spine, drawing a strange curve.
They carefully examined this mysterious larva, their hearts full of doubts.
What exactly is this? Is it a dropped item? Or some kind of new monster in the dungeon?