Vol 2. Chapter 459: Gray Shield (3)

The ancient dragon Eruhaben was in a thoroughly foul mood.

“Why?”

He glared at the third Emperor with open irritation.

“What?”

The other man had finally opened his mouth to say something, but Eruhaben gave him no time to speak.

“What are you staring blankly at? If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

Wow.

Cale looked at Eruhaben with open admiration.

He was not even giving the other side a chance to speak, then telling him to speak if he had something to say.

Of course, he pretended not to notice the silent gaze of the servant Ron, who was standing behind him with a faint smile on his face.

“Hey. Choi Han.”

Beacrox stepped over and spoke quietly beside him.

“The Young Master’s arms—what happened to them? They look painful.”

“......”

Fortunately, Choi Han had the sense to keep his mouth shut.

In truth, he did not have any opening to speak anyway.

The third Emperor.

Five Wanderers stood at his side.

Two of them were Cho and Ryeon.

The other three looked like subordinates under the third Emperor’s command.

By then, Beacrox had come to stand beside Choi Han as well. He had not really been expecting an answer when he spoke.

His gaze was fixed on the enemy too.

His back was slowly growing damp.

They’re strong.

They looked like people who had reached a realm someone like him—someone who had not even become a Sword Master yet—could never touch.

Glancing back, Beacrox’s eyes briefly shifted behind him.

He saw Sui Khan standing in front of Choi Jung Soo, On, and Hong.

The blood running down his arm.

That pale face.

You can become strong even without aura.

Remembering something Sui Khan had once said, Beacrox tightened his grip on his greatsword.

The power to cut anything.

Someday, Beacrox would master that.

But not yet.

Even so, he stood beside Choi Han.

Because he knew this was the moment when he had to lend even one hand if he could.

“And this thing isn’t even a real dragon, so why is it pretending to be one?”

Even now, the ancient dragon did not stop talking.

Cale felt it all over again.

As expected, dragons were vicious and had no manners.

“You drag this around calling it a dragon?”

Eruhaben had arrived and immediately started spitting out insults without pause.

“Yes. It is a dragon.”

At last, the third Emperor managed to get a word in.

He had tried several times to speak, but Eruhaben kept talking, so he had simply watched for a while before finally opening his mouth.

Then he asked,

“Are you done stalling for time?”

Mm.

Choi Han swallowed.

The ancient dragon Eruhaben.

Even after seeing the state Cale, Choi Han, and the others were in, the reason he had ignored all that and immediately started needling the enemy—

was to buy time.

So now it’s time to hold the line.

Choi Han tightened both hands around his sword.

Then—

at the question of whether they were done stalling,

“No!”

“No.”

Cale and Eruhaben answered one after the other.

Brazen as could be.

Then, after giving the same answer—

“......”

“......”

—the human and the dragon looked at each other for a moment, then both turned back toward the third Emperor.

Cale spoke first.

“It looks like everyone except you lot has lost interest in fighting, so why not just leave?”

He made the demand boldly.

And the ancient dragon—

“Let’s talk a little longer.”

—declared even more boldly that he intended to keep stalling.

“......”

Choi Han and Beacrox were speechless.

“Heh.”

Ron let out an easy chuckle.

But his eyes had sunk cold.

Standing behind the wall, he could see the entire rear garden at a glance.

Hummmmmm—

Raon was almost finished with the teleportation circle.

But—

“Head Steward, there’s no one left in the annex!”

“Not everyone has made it down from the third floor yet!”

“The kitchen staff says they’ll be here soon!”

The demons of Moraka Castle still had not all gathered.

“Damn it!”

Tonight, Young Master Jimon had deliberately ordered the servants to stay quiet and hide somewhere out of sight in preparation for the clash between the Order of the God of Chaos, the Demon King’s army, and Cale.

That was why the evacuation was taking so long now.

And not only Ron but the enemy saw all of it.

Watching everything unfold, the third Emperor spoke leisurely.

“What an interesting combination.”

His gaze swept across them one by one.

“There is one Single-Born carrying an individuality seed.”

Choi Han.

“And a dragon that has grown younger despite already reaching the end of its lifespan.”

Eruhaben.

“And that young dragon is quite unusual as well. I would like to examine it more closely.”

Beacrox took in the fact that he was not even worth mentioning without any visible reaction and stored it away.

“Most of all,”

the third Emperor said as he looked at Cale,

“you are the most interesting one here.”

He continued.

“I had heard a little about the White Star, but to think there is another one fit to become a god’s vessel. Truly astonishing.”

At those words, the Wanderer Ryeon flinched.

Someone fit to become a god’s vessel?

The meaning was simple.

Such a person could contain a god.

And in time, perhaps become a god as well.

Was that not exactly what the Absolute God the hunter families were trying to bring into being?

...And from someone like that, I thought I saw the shape of a Transcendent?

Ryeon’s gaze sank darkly.

Mm.

A bad feeling stirred in her gut.

What is it?

At the silent question from her younger brother Cho, Ryeon shook her head.

Don’t think too deeply about it anymore.

Right now, she was just someone under another’s command.

As long as her younger brother was not hurt.

As long as he did not die.

Nothing else mattered to Ryeon.

She simply stayed silent.

“The Order of the God of Chaos and the Demon King’s army are both acting strangely. Whatever they’re doing, it must be because of something you did.”

For now, all that mattered was following the third Emperor’s will.

“How interesting.”

The third Emperor made a small gesture.

At that moment, the blue dragon raised its body.

Its long body and head stretched straight upward as though it were about to ascend into the sky itself.

The third Emperor stood between the two horns on its head.

“Obstacles are meant to die.”

A smile settled at the corner of his mouth.

“But the interesting ones—I think I’ll take them with me.”

Cale Henituse.

And several others besides him.

Very interesting.

It might be worth taking them back and examining them properly.

He had spent so long thinking միայն of killing Choi Jung Gun.

For the first time in a long while, something entertaining had appeared.

He intended to enjoy this little game thoroughly.

“But those insolent eyes of yours need correcting first.”

He understood perfectly well why they were standing against him.

“Playing hero. How amusing.”

He was more than willing to be the villain.

“Go.”

He gestured again.

Shhhhhh—

With the sound of waves, the blue dragon moved.

Its scales gleamed with light.

In the dark night, that blue shimmer was more beautiful than the moon or the stars, like sunlight scattered across the surface of the sea.

KRAAAAAA—

Even its roar was savage, yet there was a crushing weight to it that made the listener feel overwhelmed.

“Ah.”

The Water that Devours the Sky let out a sigh.

What filled that sound was a sharp sense of loss.

Cale understood why a moment later.

“It’s water.”

That blue dragon was water itself.

“Water itself, capable of becoming the sea, or rain, or anything else.”

A being that contained nature itself, so that simply looking at it made one feel as if one were standing before something sacred.

That was the third Emperor’s individuality.

Ssssss—

Shhhhh—

Next, the water snakes of the three Wanderers following him lunged forward.

KWAHHHHH!

Three water snakes slammed into the castle wall.

But even then, the blue dragon that had been staring stiffly into the heavens—like a dragon looking as though it meant to cut the sky itself—

moved at the third Emperor’s words.

“Water never stops.”

The third Emperor smiled.

The blue dragon smiled too.

It looked as though the two of them were soulmates, perfectly matched, sharing the same emotion.

Watching that, Cale felt something strange.

Was it not like when he himself spoke with the Ancient Powers?

“Cale.”

And at that moment, the gluttonous priestess called to him softly.

But Cale had already started moving before she spoke.

Hummmmmm—

A shield appeared.

A shield bearing two wings.

Everyone watched it grow larger.

“!”

“......!”

Ron and Beacrox’s expressions hardened at the sight.

The shield was gray.

And on top of that—

“The tree has been stained!”

Just as the third Emperor said, it had been stained by chaos, and no vitality could be felt from it.

Tap!

Beacrox saw Choi Han dash past him first.

Choi Han wanted to keep Cale from pushing himself any further if he could help it.

That blue dragon.

Just looking at it, he could not even begin to estimate how strong it was.

It’s strong. Stronger than Cale’s water power.

The power of water Cale possessed had always been overwhelming even among the Ancient Powers.

But the calmness radiating from that blue dragon felt even more overwhelming than that.

Then I’ll strike first!

Had he not decided to become the sword standing foremost?

Choi Han meant to keep that promise.

KWAHHHHH!

But Choi Han was forced to stop.

“Ghk!”

He glared at the water snake that had blocked his sword.

Beyond that serpent, a Wanderer curled one corner of his mouth upward.

“Don’t throw your weight around when you’re only a seed.”

There was no despair on Choi Han’s face.

No rage either.

He had never intended to throw his weight around in the first place.

He already knew he was the weaker one here.

All he had done was choose to stand in front.

Still—

Cale!

He could not leave him to bear this alone.

If Cale had to hold that water dragon off by himself, how hard would he have to overextend?

Hummmmmm—

The faded gray shield spread over Moraka Castle.

And then—

KWAHHHHHHH—!

A roar far beyond anything before exploded outward.

“Aaagh!”

“Ghk!”

Everyone who had been trying to flee had to crouch down and clutch their ears.

Even Terosa, from the Demon King’s side—who had still been wavering over whether to retreat at General Mol’s urging—staggered under the sound.

The highest-ranking holy knight, in the middle of withdrawing, turned and took in the sight.

“A dragon.”

A radiant blue dragon.

And another gigantic dragon blocking its path.

Wrapped in brilliant platinum dust, its body even larger than the water dragon’s—

a gold dragon.

FWOOSH!

The dragon spread both wings wide and planted that massive body before the gray shield.

Not even the slightest shock reached Cale’s shield.

Because there was a dragon standing before it, defending it.

“......”

“......”

The third Emperor’s blue dragon.

And the ancient dragon Eruhaben.

The two beings looked at one another.

Then, after that single fleeting instant—

KWAHHHHHHH!

Those immense bodies crashed into each other again.

KWAHHHHH!

BOOM! KWAANG!

With those deafening blasts, the ground shook, and the surrounding forest began to be torn apart.

“Ghk!”

“Fall back!”

The Demon King’s army began to flee.

And the water snakes controlled by the third Emperor’s followers had to pull back too so they would not be caught in the collision.

It was not simply because those gigantic beings were crashing into each other.

Shhhhhhh—

The sound of waves filled the air.

The water dragon opened its mouth.

KRAAAAAA—

With that roar, water formed all around it.

Then that water shot straight at Eruhaben.

It looked like a violent storm trying to bury the ancient dragon’s body whole.

“How dare you!”

At those words—

FWOOSH!

Eruhaben beat his wings hard, and the platinum dust around him whipped into a frenzy and was pulled into the storm.

To anyone watching, it would have looked as though he had been swallowed by it.

But—

BOOM! BOOM! KWAANG!

Countless grains of platinum dust began exploding.

“As expected, that dragon’s attribute is extraordinary.”

Just as the Ancient Tree said, Eruhaben was not fighting with mana-based magic.

He was fighting with his own attribute—

and with his overwhelming body, his sheer existence.

Shhhhhhh—

Waves rose through the forest and tried to smash the castle.

KWAANG! BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!

The trees making up that forest exploded into dust and struck at the blue dragon’s scales.

Rumble—

Again and again, the blue dragon and Eruhaben slammed into each other, battering one another with their colossal bodies.

Even the aftershocks made the gray shield tremble.

Weak.

Cale’s face hardened as he watched the gray shield shake from nothing but the aftermath.

If that thing crashes into it directly, it won’t hold.

And on top of that, the blue dragon was truly powerful.

Its recovery is ridiculous.

KWAHHHHH!

The blue dragon collided with Eruhaben again.

Eruhaben’s claws tore through its scales—

but—

Shhhhhhh—

with the sound of water, the torn scales restored themselves.

“Cale. That thing is water. It isn’t a real dragon.”

Water could never truly be cut.

Never collapse.

Never shatter.

It only flowed onward.

That water dragon had substance in every visible way.

And yet its body itself was water, which was why any explosion or attack was repaired almost instantly.

“The ancient dragon is getting tired.”

And Eruhaben was visibly tiring at a frightening rate.

It was not that he was breathing heavily.

But—

“Huff. Huff.”

The ones fighting in front of the gray shield—

Ron, Beacrox, and Choi Han—

were starting to breathe hard.

Cale realized why almost immediately.

“The humidity is insane.”

Beyond the gray shield, near the water dragon—

it was becoming like being underwater.

Like paper gradually soaking through.

The air around them had turned heavy and damp.

And breathing was becoming harder and harder.

Choi Han muttered without realizing it.

“It’s like—”

the sea.

It felt as though he was being dragged deeper and deeper beneath it.