Leon Greyrat: The Second Son - Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 104 - Gaining an Ally

— Leon Greyrat —

The atmosphere of the hall instantly changed upon my request.

"Defeating Laplace... you talk of something well beyond your standing, boy," Perugius said, his tone turning hostile. "What makes you believe you can defeat an opponent that us seven heroes could barely take down? Is your arrogance that severe?"

Damn, that pressure really was something.

But compared to talking with a monster like Orsted... well, let's just say I had experience fighting against such an oppressive aura.

"Well... that is why I am asking for your aid, as I doubt I am enough on my own," I said respectfully. "But Laplace would not be the same opponent you fought before, right? He would be weakened once he is unsealed."

Perugius, who was staring down at me, relented his pressure, shaking his head as if he was scolding a child.

"I see now. I do not know what things that Dragon God told you, but defeating Laplace like that is impossible," he said. "I admire your goal, as that is also my deepest desire, but it is not a battle that you can partake in during your lifetime."

Ah... so that's why he was angry.

He just thought I was an idiot.

"I don't plan to wait for him to complete the reincarnation magic," I said, causing Perugius to freeze. "I already said it, no? I plan to unseal Laplace, and then take him down in his weakened state."

Perugius' eyes widened a bit before he shook his head. "Foolishness. Do you think I would have waited all these years, searching for his reincarnated form among the many born with his traits, if I thought such a thing was possible?"

Ah... so that's why those particles fell around Sylphy and Rudy earlier.

Just as I thought, he was searching for people with the Laplace factor in order to find Laplace's possible vessels.

Anyway, back to the conversation at hand.

"But is it not?" I said. "I remember encountering Arumanfi the Bright the day of the Displacement Incident. He assumed that we were doing something related to Laplace's seal when he attacked us, so do you not believe it to be possible?"

Perugius flinched, his eyebrows narrowed in confusion, and a moment later, Arumanfi appeared at his side, seemingly whispering something to him.

"Ah... I see, so it was you on that day," he said, nodding his head in understanding. "Nevertheless, that was a different case. Something like the Displacement Incident was unprecedented, and it's nature as a byproduct of summoning had made me suspicious, alongside the immeasurable amount of mana used. As it was an accidental occurrence, something of that scale cannot be counted on to unseal Laplace."

"So, what you are saying, is that there is a way..." I said, smiling to myself.

Readjusting himself, Perugius looked down at me with something akin to pity, or perhaps disgust.

"How aggravating... Either way, while you are correct, it still cannot be done. That seal used all the Dragon God Urupen's remaining mana and lifespan to be placed. Even if it was a relatively small amount of mana compared to past Dragon Gods, it is not a level that you can replicate," he said. "To unseal Laplace... you would likely need an amount of mana equal to Laplace's own. It is simply impossible."

My lips tugged up into a wider smirk.

"Rudy. Get up here," I said.

"W-What!? Uh... fine," he said reluctantly, slowly walking over to us.