Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 47 - Turning Point

Six months after leaving Millishion, we arrived at the place the map labels the Crimson Dragon's Jaw.

The Crimson Dragon's Jaw.

A single gorge, running straight through, no forks, no branches. It wasn't as arrow-straight as the Holy Sword Highway, but that didn't change what it was: one road, one way through.

Past here lay the Asura Kingdom.

The place reportedly sees snow year-round. We'd prepared for that before we came.

"Rudeus! Look up! Dragons!"

Eris was pointing at the sky above us. A flock of Crimson Dragons wheeled overhead, back and forth through the grey air.

One Crimson Dragon on its own didn't seem that frightening. But this many? Even with all my confidence in my magic, I could die here.

"Eris, shh. Keep your voice down."

"Rudeus, should we hunt one?"

She said it in a whisper. Aisha answered her in an even lower one.

"Sister Eris, I'd like to live a few more years."

"There are too many of them. One or two would be one thing, but this is an entire flock."

Hearing the two of us, Eris reined in her excitement.

In this world's fairy tales, heroes were always dragon slayers. Eris had always dreamed of something like that, that much was obvious.

But these were pack-dwelling Crimson Dragons. There was nothing I could do to give her that wish.

........

We walked on down the single road.

Then I spotted two figures ahead.

Silver hair. Golden eyes. No armor, just a sturdy white coat made from some kind of hide I didn't recognize. No horse. No carriage. Traveling on foot, same as us.

Walking beside him was a black-haired girl in a mask. Black hair was something I'd almost never seen in this world...

No. Wait. Now wasn't the time for that.

I could feel it. Clearly. Unmistakably.

Killing intent.

Not the kind people throw out carelessly to intimidate. He genuinely wanted to kill me.

A complete stranger, someone I had never seen before in my life, was directing pure killing intent at me. That was not a good thing.

I glanced over at Eris and Aisha. Both of them had gone rigid, frozen in place.

I looked back up. In that moment, his eyes found mine.

Pure instinct took over.

"Eris! Take Aisha and run!"

The shout was barely out before I raised the Arrogant Water Dragon King and cast, pouring magic into the man and freezing him solid.

That should have been the end of it.

But my heart kept hammering.

He is not the kind of existence that goes down from magic like that.

"Eris! Now!"

Eris's mind seemed to snap back into her body. She grabbed Aisha and ran, sprinting back the way we'd come.

I let out a breath.

Then I looked up.

The man I had frozen was gone.

I turned left. Right. Scanning for any trace of him.

Several seconds passed. Nothing.

Deep breath. Stay loose.

"Here."

I spun toward the voice and found him.

The instant I saw him, his hand was already at my face. A blade strike, open-palm. One second away from my skull.

I was certain of it. One more second and I would be dead.

Dead?

Was I going to die again?

No, not the time. Think. One second. What can I cast in one second?

1 second.

Think.

What magic could still protect Aisha and Eris after I was gone? Or did this man only want me? If it was only me he wanted to kill,

That would be best.

The second ended.

I hadn't cast anything. 1 second was too short.

But I wasn't dead.

I stood there, dazed, for several long seconds. Then I heard Eris scream.

My heart stopped.

I ran toward where they'd fled.

When I found them, the man had driven his hand into Aisha's chest. Straight through her. Right beside her, Eris lay crumpled on the ground, unconscious.

"Ah — ah — AAAAAAHHHH!"

I raised the Arrogant Water Dragon King. I don't know what I cast. I only know it was the single largest expenditure of mana in my entire life. Every bit I had, concentrated to a single point, spinning at extreme speed, and then fired.

He watched me with cold eyes.

"A move used once won't work a second time." His voice was flat. Utterly calm. "Former Dragon Gate."

The magic tore toward him without stopping. When the smoke cleared, he was standing right where he'd been, completely unharmed. Not even the hem of his coat had gathered dust.

He picked up Aisha and flung her toward me.

I lunged and caught her. I looked at the wound and my mind went blank. My mana reserves were still deep, I poured everything I had into my healing magic, pushing it as hard as it would go. Advanced rank. That was my ceiling.

He looked down at me. There was something like pity in his expression.

"What's this? Your healing magic only reaches Advanced?"

I ignored him. I kept running through every possibility I could think of.

A wound this severe, my healing magic wasn't going to cut it. All I could do was keep Aisha alive. Buying time with nothing to spend it on.

I cast it again. And again. Over and over.

Calm down. Calm down. What does healing magic actually need? Think clearly. Think.

But my mind wouldn't stop spinning. I couldn't get hold of it no matter what I tried.

"Damn it... damn it..."

The tears came. I hated myself for not taking healing magic seriously. If I had spent more time on it, if I had just pushed further,

"Rudeus Greyrat."

The man's voice cut through.

"Do you have no other options? Or is this simply the limit of what you are right now?"

I didn't answer him. I kept pouring mana in, kept Aisha's pulse going on borrowed time.

I didn't know what to do.

The mana would run out.

Cold sweat poured down my face. The tears didn't stop either.

On my own, I could not save Aisha.

She was going to die. Because I wasn't good enough.

I turned and looked at the man who had just tried to kill us.

He was powerful beyond anything I had seen. The magic he used wasn't from any school I had ever heard of.

The odds were almost nothing. I knew that. But a man like him, he had to be able to, he had to,

Before the thought had fully formed, my knees were already on the ground. My forehead hit the dirt. I screamed at him.

"Please! I don't know why you did this to my sister, but I'm begging you! Spare her! I don't care what you want from me, anything, I'll do anything!"

He didn't answer right away. Several seconds of silence.

Then: "Perhaps I was wrong before. If even someone like you is willing to kneel before me..." A pause. "Very well. I will spare your sister."

I stayed frozen on the ground for several seconds. I couldn't make myself believe it.

"You mean... you're serious?"

"Yes."

He cast something, a healing magic I'd never seen, couldn't identify. Aisha's wound closed.

I pressed my ear to her chest and listened. Her heartbeat steadied. Gradually, it came back to normal.

When I was certain she was stable, I looked up at him.

"As long as you don't touch my family, whatever you need, I will help you do it."

"Rest easy, Rudeus Greyrat. I am not an unreasonable man." He reached into his coat and produced a bracelet. "When your sister wakes, put this on her wrist. The next time we meet, I will explain why I did what I did today." He looked at me directly. "I am Dragon God Orsted."

He turned and walked away. The masked girl followed without a word.

I watched their backs until they disappeared. Then I let out a long, slow breath. My body had nothing left. I tipped forward and the ground came up to meet me.

.......

Aisha's Perspective:

The moment I saw that man, my body started shaking. Every pore, every cell, all of it screaming the same thing.

Run.

But my legs wouldn't work. Fear had locked them in place. Sister Eris and my brother were the same, both completely still.

He came a few steps closer. His eyes settled on me. Like he had already decided to kill me. Like the only question was when.

"Eris! Take Aisha and run!"

My brother was the first to move. He raised his staff and hit the man with magic.

The man froze solid. My brother shouted again.

"Eris! Go!"

Sister Eris came back to herself. She grabbed me and ran.

I wanted to fight her. I wanted to go back, to help my brother somehow. But the fear had stolen my voice. I couldn't even get a word out.

And then, without warning, it came back to me, what the Man-God had said.

[When the time comes, your brother will likely take you through the Crimson Dragon's Jaw. If he decides to do that, you have to stop him. Otherwise your brother will die, you will die, and this world will be destroyed.]

Was this it? Was this what he'd meant?

I had known. I had known, and I hadn't said anything.

Regret hit me like a weight. If I hadn't been so proud, if I had just listened,

If I had been stronger. Strong enough to stand beside my brother and fight that man together,

The thoughts piled on top of each other. When I finally surfaced, Sister Eris was already on the ground.

"Ah, ah, no, don't,"

"Apostle of the Man-God."

The man's eyes were burning with fury as he looked at me. I wanted to be brave. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that I wasn't a believer, that I had nothing to do with the Man-God.

I forced my mouth open.

"No... I'm not..."

The words never finished.

His hand went through my chest.

It hurt. It hurt so much. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs.

My mouth was open. Nothing came out.

"Ah — ah — AAAAAAHHHH!"

I saw my brother. Roaring. Launching everything he had at that man.

I wanted to tell him to run. I couldn't make a sound.

My eyelids were so heavy.

I felt myself thrown, and then caught. Caught in something warm and familiar.

I couldn't open my eyes. But I could hear my brother's voice, chanting the words for healing magic. And underneath that, crying.

Was I dying? Was that why he was crying?

I'm sorry. I knew this was coming. I knew, and I could have stopped it,

I could have.

Gradually, the world went quiet.

➤ Next: Aisha 4