Leviathan

After my fight with Behemoth, the demon and I took off to where he says Leviathan is.

"You say that was a spur-of-the-moment spell?" he asks, surprised.

"Yes," I reply, thinking back on my studies in Ragnarök, "I did as you said and hit Behemoth with a spell more powerful than Judgement." But then again, Judgement may have worked just as well. I definitely powered up.

"You're more of a monster than Lucifer said," he whispers.

"Lucifer? Come to think of it, who are you to Lucifer anyway? For him to send you must mean he trusts you quite a bit."

"Trust?" The demon snickers, "Trust, you say. Lucifer does not trust me. And I don't trust him either. We're at odds, you see."

"Then why would you take orders from him?"

The demon remains silent. We fly for another minute before he responds, "Lucifer is the King. And as King, he has the final say."

I can't feel any emotion in his words. His expression is tame. And I just noticed this, I can't see his mana. My eyes sharpened with this new transformation, allowing me to see through the physical realm. Life force, or mana, is invisible to the naked eye. But with my eyes, I can see it. Behemoth's mana was dense and suffocating, like a poisonous cloud. As for this demon, I can't see his mana. Is it because he is stronger than Behemoth? Is he stronger than me? I reach for the demon's back. If he attacked me before I transformed, I would have died. But how would I fare against him now? His eyes roll to the side, and I jerk my arm back. We fly in silence for the next few minutes. "How much longer till we reach Leviathan?"

"Not long."

His response was short. Did I say something wrong? Or is he wary of me?

"I will not fight you," he says.

"What?"

"Your thoughts are written over your face. You were wondering if I am more powerful than Leviathan. Then you wondered how you would fare against me, since you can't see my mana, correct."

"Can you read minds?"

"No, I can only read people."

"That's an awesome skill to have."

"It's a skill you learn when you've experienced life as long as I have."

"I would have learned that skill if my memories weren't wiped so much, wouldn't I?"

He turns his head to me. "Do you resent the six True Gods?"

Resent? I don't think it's something that deep… No, "it's deeper than resentment. They robbed me of millennia. I despise the six True Gods."

The air becomes suffocating. I look up and my jaw drops. "Is that…?"

"Yes, we've arrived."

A thick, blue mana cloud floats over the ground like mist. It's like a dome.

"What do you see?"

"Mana. A lot of it. It's like a barrier."

"How far off?"

"Not far. We'll reach it in five minutes."

"I see."

"Is it safe?"

"It's just mana."

"I know that." The fact that it's mana is not my concern. This is too much mana. "I thought you said Behemoth was Leviathan's equal."

"Leviathan's only equal are the other sins. Save for Lucifer, of course."

So, the rumours were false. That could be the only explanation for a difference this massive. We stop before the mana. "It's here."

The demon places his hand on the mana. "I can feel it, yes. She's grown stronger."

"She?"

"Leviathan's a female."

A… female? "I thought she was male. Rai referred to her as such."

"It's a misconception the humans have. Leviathan has always been a woman." He presses his arm into the mana dome. "Let's go."

So, it is safe to enter. I follow along. I reach out, sceptical. When I touch the mana, I can feel a surge of emotions course through my body. This is… A deep resentment and longing for what you don't own—envy.

The demon turns to me. "Coat yourself with mana. If you don't, you'll be consumed by her envy."

I do as he says and coat myself with mana. The surge of envy disappears. "Sigh." I look at him, "How can you walk through this mana without a mana coat?"

"I am wearing one."

"You are?" I scan his body. "You're not. I don't see anything."

"Then you're not used to your eyes. Try squinting. You can see past a measly spell like this can't you?"

A spell? I squint my eyes. The more I squint, the more I see feint glimmers of red flash over his body. "You're right. I can just barely see it. How'd you do it?"

"It's a spell someone cast on me. It hides my mana from this world."

"Wow, that's awesome." Is that why he could enter Leagard?

"Let's push forward. Leviathan is just up ahead."

We hike through the mana. The closer we get to Leviathan, the denser her mana becomes. It feels like I'm walking through a storm. I was, in fact, walking through a storm. When we reached a certain point, a thunderstorm showered. The winds picked up and nearly sent me off my feet. Ever since, I've been walking with my arm shielding my eyes. The demon has been walking with no care for the storm. It's like his mind completely ignores this storm.

After an hour of walking, we finally reach the centre of the dome. I stare in amazement. A serpent larger than me in my dragon form. A creature as large as Grandpa. Blue and purple scales run down in a mosaic pattern to a tail submerged in an ocean. The red eyes glaring down at me sends chills down my spine. "So, you've come, Code Name: Ryu. Or should I say, Haruki Ryu?"