Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 483: Gray Rain Falls (15)

“Tsk.”

Cale clicked his tongue.

Just before the shield and the water dragon’s body collided—

ROOOOOOAR—

The scales made of water. The part about to touch the shield instantly turned into water and surged toward Cale.

GRAAAAAH—

The water dragon cried out that it could not be defeated yet.

That it could not be wounded.

That it was water.

That shield could never so much as scratch its body.

The third Emperor, Dragon King.

Its master had told it that this was why it was a great dragon, a dragon that could never lose.

GRAAAAAH—

Even if, for now, it had been briefly trapped by an old dragon, a traitorous Wanderer, and a magic net—

It was a dragon that could not lose.

No, a dragon that could not be harmed.

“Damn it!”

The Wanderer Ryeon’s flustered voice rang out.

Rustle—rustle—

No matter how hard she tried, she could not freeze the water dragon’s enormous body all at once.

At most, she could freeze part of it so the water dragon’s entire body could not turn into water and escape outside the net.

Even so, the water dragon acknowledged her.

She was impressive.

After all, even briefly, she had frozen its body, the sea.

And it acknowledged this too.

The old dragon.

Part of what that dragon said was right.

It was the sea.

It was a dragon, but it was also the sea.

Because it possessed both, it could become a great being.

And yet it had forgotten that and fixated on only one. It needed to accept that old dragon’s advice.

GRAAAAAH—

The dragon that had gained realization released its momentum without hiding it.

No!

And the Wanderer Ryeon was panicking.

If the water dragon escaped the ancient dragon’s suppression and the black net like this—

If it turned into water and slipped out of this trap—

My usefulness—

She would not be able to prove her usefulness.

That could not happen.

Cho and Ryeon.

The two siblings were Wanderers who could use power reaching Five-Colored-grade when they used their strength together.

It was a case where opposite extremes coexisted and produced even greater power.

But Ryeon, left alone right now, could not defeat the third Emperor’s water dragon, a Five-Colored-grade individuality.

This can’t happen—

Ryeon’s face began to turn white.

Crack—

The water dragon’s scales froze even faster.

Of course, she could not freeze the interior, only the surface. But the speed was far faster than before.

Ryeon’s individuality grew powerful enough to reach Five-Colored-grade when she was with her younger brother.

She did not yet know this meant her individuality had the potential to grow to the limit of Five-Colored-grade.

But at that moment, while she was desperate, she heard someone’s voice by her ear.

“Looks like you misunderstood.”

It was Cale.

Ryeon raised her head.

Cale was licking his lips.

—I’m thirsty.

Like he had delicious food right before his eyes.

Cale had not trapped this thing in order to wound it or attack it.

He had done it to eat.

No, to drink.

Cale brought the shield against the part of the water dragon that had shed its dragon shell and turned into water.

—!

The water dragon’s eyes widened.

What was that?

What had just happened?

A chilling sensation made its body freeze.

No, it could not think at all.

And because of that instant, the water dragon soon realized what was happening to it.

—Gulp.

The shield began to drink the water.

—Salty.

The gluttonous priestess was extremely thirsty.

It was salty, but this was the water the glutton had wanted.

Water that would resolve the indigestion caused by chaos.

GRAAAAAH—!!

The water dragon began to howl.

The gluttonous priestess had not even drunk much yet.

But from that small sip, the water dragon felt fear.

It was being eaten.

It, a great dragon and the sea, was being eaten!

That fact brought the water dragon greater terror than anything else.

At the same time, it realized.

It’s him!

This one had eaten a piece of its avatar, the small water dragon!

The water dragon sent its thoughts to its master, carrying desperation and rage.

It is him!

Master, it is him!

The water dragon twisted its body inside the net and turned its head.

Drip.

It saw the red-haired bastard standing on its scales, then lying flat against them altogether, clinging tightly in an unsightly manner.

Master, it is him!

That bastard pressed the shield against its scales.

It tried to turn into water, but water was, in the end, something that existed.

Unless it scattered like rain, seeped into the soil, or dispersed in every direction—

One way or another, it could be touched. It could be reached.

Rustle—

The frozen scales.

And if even a very small area was frozen—

“.......”

If the Wanderer Ryeon saw Cale’s position and froze the spot he touched—

That was enough for Cale.

The place where only the surface of the scales had frozen.

The edge of the shield sank slightly into that water.

GRAAAAAH—!

The water dragon thrashed desperately to avoid it, but—

Grip.

The old dragon seized it, and the black net grew even denser.

Their goal was not to defeat the dragon.

Nor was it to wound the dragon.

It was merely to hold it in place.

That much was fully possible for the ancient dragon and the young dragon.

—Gulp!

And the glutton began to drink.

The water dragon had crossed the mountain and arrived here while taking in rainwater, groundwater, and every kind of water.

The gluttonous priestess was not drinking all the water the water dragon contained.

—Refreshing!

The water that held the nature the gluttonous priestess had been seeking.

The sea.

The glutton began to drink the sea.

Nature equal enough to wash away chaos.

This was the existence the gluttonous priestess had been waiting for.

—Gulp, gulp—

She drank without stopping.

“Hah—”

The corners of Cale’s mouth began to rise.

GRAAAAAH—

The water dragon thrashed.

“Mm!”

The ancient dragon groaned, as if the movement was becoming difficult to handle.

“Ugh!”

The Wanderer Ryeon no longer simply pressed her hand against it. She practically clung to it as she used her ability.

—I am still fine!

Wooooong—woong—!

Raon poured out even more black mana and worked hard to maintain the net.

In the middle of all that—

—Ate one.

The Water that Devours the Sky reported the situation.

—Gulp, gulp, gulp—

The gluttonous priestess kept eating without rest.

Wooooong—wooo—

And as he watched the gray shield slowly regain its silver color—

Cale could not hold it in anymore.

“Heh, hahahaha—”

Laughter spilled from him without his realizing it.

—!

And when the water dragon saw that laugh, flames rose in its eyes.

—Human, the water dragon’s eyes have flipped!

Just as Raon said, its eyes had indeed flipped.

GRAAAAAH—!

The water dragon released a howl more filled with rage than ever before and twisted its body.

This was on an entirely different level from before.

Of course it was.

It had lost another piece of its avatar.

No, that bastard had eaten it.

“Urgh!”

That desperate struggle sent the Wanderer Ryeon flying backward.

SHWAAAAK—

The water dragon turned every part of itself except its face into water.

“Mm!”

There was nothing left for the ancient dragon to hold.

Frustration appeared on Eruhaben’s face.

But Eruhaben could not keep holding on any longer.

ROOOOOOAR—

The water dragon’s body began turning into a violent whirlpool.

If things went wrong, Eruhaben might be caught at the center of that whirlpool.

Because this was not an ordinary whirlpool.

It was a whirlpool of the sea.

The whirlpool grew as massive as the mountain it had crossed and surged upward.

If one entered that center, it would feel like being caught in a whirlpool at the heart of the deep sea.

—Ah!

Raon was flustered too.

SHAAAAAA—

The whirlpool wrapped around the net.

It swallowed even the black net and continued increasing its size.

Rain and groundwater.

It absorbed all of it, trying to swallow both the ancient dragon and the black net.

And at the center of what it was trying to swallow was Cale.

—Human!

Raon called Cale, and Eruhaben was about to wonder whether he needed to save Cale and retreat, when—

“!”

“......!”

The two dragons were able to withdraw without hesitation.

“Haha, hahahaha—!”

Because Cale was still laughing.

Even while being caught in the whirlpool and sucked toward the center of that water, he laughed as if he loved it.

He looked extremely excited.

Both Raon and Eruhaben had seen that expression in a long while, and they knew what happened when Cale made that face.

The ancient dragon withdrew while taking the dazed Wanderer Ryeon with him.

“Ah!”

Ryeon came back to her senses and opened her mouth.

“We don’t need to save him?”

“Do you not see him laughing?”

At Eruhaben’s words, Ryeon could not bring herself to argue.

Cale was laughing.

He truly looked excited.

GRAAAAAH—

And the water dragon had created a whirlpool that soared higher than the mountain, as though it would reach the sky.

Its own body had become that whirlpool, and it had lowered its head to look down at that enormous force.

And yet—

GRAAAAAH—

Its rage vanished, and all it could release was a cry soaked in fear.

—Gulp, gulp—

—One more. Drank three in total.

“Heh, heh heh—”

—Gulp, gulp—

—Adding one more.

“Heh heh—!”

Cale felt good for the first time in a long while.

He somehow clung stubbornly to the shield and endured.

His body was tossed around inside the whirlpool.

He was a little dizzy, but—

It’s drinking!

The shield, extremely excited, began to eat even harder.

And Cale could feel it.

The Water that Devours the Sky.

Because he possessed the power of water, he could feel it even more clearly.

This enormous whirlpool.

The sea power contained within it was gradually decreasing.

Its size was only growing because of the rainwater.

The core of it kept shrinking.

—Refreshing. Gulp.

The gluttonous priestess’s voice grew better and better as she said it was refreshing.

—Cale. It is digesting.

Just as the Ancient Tree said, Cale’s body also became much better.

Of course, corruption of chaos that had not yet been purified still remained. Even so, perhaps because the glutton’s indigestion had improved, Cale’s condition kept getting better.

His body felt light for the first time in ages.

Was this even possible?

“Hahahaha—!”

His body was tossed around by the whirlpool, soaked all over, and at times struck across the cheek and body by the current.

“Hahahaha!”

Yet Cale laughed with excitement.

At that moment, a low voice reached him.

—The sea is ultimately water as well.

It was the Water that Devours the Sky.

A strange light appeared in Cale’s eyes.

Because he felt that not only the gluttonous priestess, but the Water that Devours the Sky had realized something as well.

GRAAAAAH—

—One more.

Cale stopped laughing.

Now the last one.

If it drank just one more—

Then the shield no longer needed to drink.

Cale looked at the shield, now returned to silver, and watched it drink the final piece as he waited for the moment.

—One more!

And the moment the Water that Devours the Sky sent the signal—

Cale pulled on the shield.

Now it’s over!

The shield had returned to silver, and on top of that, had undergone the change of sprouting leaves.

The essence of chaos created through forty-three rituals. On top of that, the Pope’s chaos. Wind-Borne Chaos as well.

The shield had contained a great deal of chaos.

And it had drunk the sea contained within the third Emperor, Dragon King’s water dragon.

It was only natural that this shield would grow.

Cale was simply curious how it would change.

Now I just need to watch that result.

Cale pulled the shield again.

“?”

And he was flustered.

Just in case, he pulled the shield again.

“??”

The shield did not budge.

ROOOOOOAR—

At the center of the whirlpool.

Even as Cale was tossed around, he did not let go of the hand holding the shield.

“?”

But now that he looked, the silver thread connected to the shield was wrapped tightly around his hand, so much so that he could not let go even if he wanted to.

Cale had not been clinging desperately to it.

The shield had been holding on to Cale.

But that was not the problem right now.

“Huh?”

The shield would not move.

“Huh, huh?”

This was not good.

—Gulp, gulp.

The glutton was still drinking.

It was drinking more than the amount originally needed.

“What is wrong with you?”

Cale was flustered.

—...Hah.

The Ancient Tree was flustered too.

—Gulp. Gulp.

The glutton barely managed to speak.

—Gulp, I-I can’t stop...! It’s too delicious...! Gulp!

Cale’s complexion turned white.

Surely—

—A second bout of indigestion......!

At the Ancient Tree’s following words, Cale squeezed his eyes shut.

Damn it!

Right.

He had thought things were going unusually well!

Damn it!

—At this rate, it will eat the entire water dragon, won’t it?

The Ancient Tree was so flustered that the words came faster. It seemed to be blurting out whatever came to mind.

—Glutton, stop it! At this rate, Cale may suffer from indigestion for months!

At that moment, the stingy old man of the Fire of Destruction quietly added a word.

—Hey, at this rate, will a dragon be engraved on the shield instead of a heart?

Ah.

At that instant, Cale let out a sound without realizing it.

Come to think of it, the Unbreakable Shield, the gluttonous priestess, had eaten the ancient power Heart’s Vitality before.

Suddenly, one thought came to him.

Individuality.

Was that not similar to an ancient power?

Right now, wasn’t the glutton eating individuality as if she were eating an ancient power?

Cale lowered his head.

The silver shield.

—Trees grow by drinking water.

The Water that Devours the Sky’s calm words sank deep into Cale’s mind.

—If it held Heart’s Vitality in order to protect, then a tree that has reached the time to grow may drink water in order to grow.

The Water that Devours the Sky was still calm.

—However, this one is someone who died while eating. In other words, it may die while eating.

No, so. That meant—

Cale soon properly heard what he had understood.

—In other words, you may end up that way.

Damn it!

Cale swore.

GRAAAAAH—

The water dragon thrashed and howled.

Both their faces were turning white.

“Hey!”

But Cale had something to say.

“It’s water!”

You said seawater was water too!

“Are you just going to sit still?”

At Cale’s question, the Water that Devours the Sky replied calmly.

—Water that exceeds the cup will ultimately spill over.

So?

—Water that exceeds capacity will, in the end, flow out of your body.

Hm?

—Do not worry. The excess water you drank will be vomited out. I will make an exit path for the waters in your body.

Huh?

I’m going to throw up?

And you’re going to help me throw up?

Cale’s pupils trembled.

Even then—

GRAAAAAH—

The water dragon howled.

—Two remain now.

—That means there is not much time left until the shield stops.

Cale had drunk everything of the water dragon except its head.

I don’t want to throw up!

Cale’s face grew whiter and whiter.

*****

“Aaaaaaaaah—!”

The third Emperor vomited rage at the sight he saw through the water dragon.

How dare they try to swallow my power!

Ignoring even the Demon King following behind him, the third Emperor, his eyes overturned with fury, rushed toward the place where Cale was.

The Demon King was not the problem right now.

And the Demon King—

“This is the first time I have seen him rage like such a madman.”

With eyes filled with interest, but outwardly pretending to chase the third Emperor hard, he leisurely followed behind him.

*****

—Gulp.

At last.

—I cannot drink any more.

The glutton stopped drinking.

“.......”

Cale lowered his head.

His stomach was churning.

This really did feel like indigestion.

“.......”

He forced himself to raise his head.

Gra...aa...

There, the water dragon’s head was looking down while holding a whirlpool made of rainwater.

A much smaller whirlpool.

—It did not drink everything. One remains.

Just as the Water that Devours the Sky said, the glutton ultimately had not drunk it all.

She had not swallowed all of the sea that contained a Five-Colored-grade individuality.

Gra...aaah...

Drip.

The water dragon, howling weakly, was crying.

Drip. Drip.

The whirlpool finally disappeared.

Because it no longer had the strength to maintain it.

SHAAAAA—

In the space where only the sound of rain settled down—

Cale could see the water dragon falling toward the ground.

Gra...aaah...

There was no dragon that existed with only a head.

That was why the water dragon had become the size of a small thread snake.

Cale began to feel a little sorry.

“So—”

He was about to say sorry.

“Urp!”

But his stomach churned.

He felt like he was going to throw up.

He could not say anything.

If he opened his mouth, he felt like he would vom