Book 1 Chapter 674

674

Whoooosh-

An unpleasant wind that choked the breath blew.

A long time ago.

During the Age of Calamity, even the strong winds carried the scent of death.

"Ricina is the Dragon Lord?"

Hearing Leo's words, Gimyeon burst into laughter.

"Hahaha- What a funny joke. Do you think a black dragon living in darkness is worthy of the title Dragon Lord?"

Gimyeon, covering his face, shrugged his shoulders.

"Dragon Lord means the most noble being in the world. A chosen one recognized by the gods. And that foolish, dull woman is the Dragon Lord? Hahaha! It's funny! It's funny!"

Gimyeon, laughing madly, pointed his finger at Leo.

"You've entertained me, so I'll praise you for that. But it's also unpleasant."

Drip- The man stopped laughing and said indifferently.

"I will kill you painfully for the crime of making such a low-level joke."

Flash-!

A flash of light glinted.

Gimyeon had no doubt that his attack would blow off one of Leo's arms.

Leo swung his arm, which was not holding a sword.

Thump-! KABOOM-!

With a heavy collision sound, a mass of magic shot up into the sky and caused a powerful explosion.

Gimyeon's eyes twitched.

Leo's hand had deflected Gimyeon's magic.

"Something as lowly as you."

"To be called that by a mere lizard doesn't feel good, does it?"

"You! Did you call me a lizard again?"

Gimyeon's eyes gleamed.

Watching Gimyeon, Leo rubbed his neck.

The Chosen One, Gimyeon.

Before the Age of Calamity.

He was a dragon designated as the next Dragon Lord.

As such, he was a being who wielded powerful dragon language magic.

Even in the current era, the Dragon Lord holds the highest status in the world.

The ruler of Dragonia, who selects and nurtures heroes.

It could be said that he literally moves the world.

'But his status is lower compared to before the Age of Calamity.'

Before the Age of Calamity, the Dragon Lord's authority was literally immense.

A single word from the Dragon Lord could instantly destroy even a nation.

A race chosen by the gods.

Guardians of the world.

That was the dragon, and the one who commanded them was the Dragon Lord.

If the Dragon Lord of the current era exists for the world.

The Dragon Lord of that time existed to reign over the world.

'Well, the reason for that immense influence diminishing is because of this guy.'

Hatred flickered in Leo's eyes.

The previous Dragon Lord lost his life fighting against Erebus and Tartarus.

He sacrificed his life for the world.

And after the previous Dragon Lord fell on the battlefield.

Gimyeon, who became the Dragon Lord, made a choice that literally uprooted the world's balance, which was barely maintained.

He pledged loyalty to Erebus and betrayed the world.

The betrayal of the Dragon Lord, the most powerful being, was enough to plunge the world into shock.

And Gimyeon felt no shame for that choice.

"Yes, it seems you also have such a foolish thought."

Terrifying magic began to erupt from Gimyeon's body.

"That I had to sacrifice my life for the world."

Flash-

His pupils turned into dragon eyes.

"Why should I do that? I am a chosen being."

Whirrrrr-!

Countless magic circles appeared around Gimyeon.

"The world exists for me! For Gimyeon! You lowly human!"

A roar erupted from Gimyeon's mouth.

'Dragon Fear.'

An attack that instantly destroys the minds of those with weak mental defense.

Leo, exposed to the attack, slightly frowned.

"My ears hurt."

"What?!"

Gimyeon's expression turned to shock.

Watching Gimyeon, Leo laughed ferociously.

"Chosen my ass."

Gimyeon was a being who had been revered and lived since the moment of his birth.

He was born a noble white dragon and possessed astonishing talent.

Even the gods spared no blessings, stating he was born to rule the world.

That's why he had no hesitation in betraying the world and felt no shame.

'For him, it was natural.'

The Age of Calamity.

He had executed countless traitors from the shadows.

'If I had to pick the worst among them, it would be this lizard.'

Due to Gimyeon's betrayal, dragons became distrusted by the world.

The moment the most noble Dragon Lord turned his back on the world.

Countless people despaired.

Amidst this, Ricina, a dragon of the same kind, appeared and spoke of hope.

Carrying the distrust Gimyeon had created.

Ricina had to fight a difficult battle alone for many years.

'Until she met me.'

Leo's hands tightened.

Even after Dwenoh joined and the Arch party was formed, Ricina had to carry the distrust Gimyeon had created for many years.

The cold reactions and ridicule she received when she spoke of being able to save the world.

The great heroes knew better than anyone how long that distrust had tormented Ricina.

'That's why I wanted to kill him with my own hands.'

Not just himself.

Luna, Dwenoh, and even Arion.

They were determined to hunt down Gimyeon.

However, in his previous life, Gimyeon was not hunted down by the great heroes.

After Fafnir was exterminated by the great heroes, Gimyeon fled to Tartarus to avoid the great heroes.

And he was executed by the hand of the Lich King, falling into an undead with no will.

Gimyeon was the one who granted Fafnir, who was merely a mid-tier magical beast, the traits of abnormal reproduction and growth.

After Fafnir disappeared, he was disposed of as he was deemed no longer useful.

A fitting end for a traitor.

But in that final moment, neither he, nor Luna, nor Dwenoh were ever satisfied.

Leo lowered his stance.

Woosh-!

Suddenly, Leo disappeared.

Swish-!

Leo, appearing behind Gimyeon, swung his sword with a chilling sound.

"That's my afterimage, you know?"

Gimyeon, who had appeared behind Leo at some point, sneered.

Thwack-!

"……!"

"I know."

"Gulp?"

In Leo's hand, which was not holding a sword, a long spear was held.

Summoning a spear and thrusting it backward, Leo kicked Gimyeon in the abdomen.

WHAM-!

Along with a huge explosion, Gimyeon's body flew away.

"How dare you! A lowly human, to injure me, the Dragon Lord!"

Rage erupted from Gimyeon's body.

"Who recognizes a traitorous lizard like you as the Dragon Lord?"

Leo sneered.

There was no point in talking anyway.

But he didn't ignore Gimyeon's words.

He just denied them.

No one in the world recognized the lizard before him as the Dragon Lord.

'That has nothing to do with me. It's just…'

It was sickening that the lizard before him claimed to be greater than Ricina.

Flash-

Leo's pupils turned black.

Gimyeon was shocked to see Leo's eyes transform into dragon eyes.

"What? So you weren't just borrowing Ricina's power!"

"I'll show you how strong the true strongest dragon is."

Dragonic mana surged around Leo's body.

Dark mana flickered like a blade from his fingertips.

'Dragon… Fear?'

Gimyeon's body froze.

What was before his eyes was…

A dragon itself.

***

"Duran! Support in Sector 3!"

Zzzzt-!

Along with Kal's shout, lightning storms raged.

Duran, who arrived at the designated area with immense speed, unleashed lightning.

"Oh! Not bad! Kid!"

Seeing that, a dwarf warrior laughed heartily.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

At that moment, a giant demon broke through the sea of fire and attached itself to the castle wall.

Seeing that, Kal grinned.

"As expected, you broke through! Driana!"

At Kal's shout, Driana said to Arch, who was hanging from the end of her hammer's head.

"Here I go! You stupid cat!"

"Who are you calling stupid!"

Driana, grinning, began to spin wildly in the air.

Centrifugal force was added to Driana's tremendous power.

Then, she threw the hammer, with Arch hanging from it, towards the giant demon.

Gooooooo-!

Golden aura surged from Arch's body.

Arch, with the soles of his feet on the hammer flying at immense speed, tilted his head back and looked straight ahead, then extended his knees.

Thwack-!

Added to the hammer's power, Arch's leg strength created tremendous acceleration.

"Yaaaargh!"

Arch's body pierced the giant demon's sternum like a bullet.

Thwack-!

"Ugh?!"

A death rattle escaped the demon's mouth.

Arch, who had instantly killed the demon with a kick, flew straight to Dwenoh.

"Dwenoh-nim! I came to help!"

Thump-!

Arch, landing on the ground, kicked and crushed the head of a demon aiming for Dwenoh's back.

And then…

"Ah, hotttttt!"

Arch screamed as he landed in the middle of a sea of fire.

Seeing Arch, Dwenoh shouted.

"What's so hot about this?!"

"It's hot to me!"

"It seems you'll have to go into the furnace too!"

"Why is the conversation going that way!"

Arch, though panicked, moved quickly.

Thanks to his Aura Armor, which enhanced his fire resistance, he avoided being harmed by his allies' flames.

However, he couldn't do anything about the heat itself.

"The enemies are coming endlessly! You should head back to the wall soon!"

"Hmm! Since I've broken their momentum, let's head back!"

It was when Dwenoh grinned.

Kuaaaaaaaang!

A roar echoed in the sky.

And then…

KA-BOOM-!

"A dragon?!"

Arch's expression turned to shock as he saw a dragon fall right in front of him.

"Where did it come from…"

"Gimyeon."

A low voice was heard from Dwenoh's mouth.

"Do you know this dragon?"

"I know him well."

Arch, turning his gaze to Dwenoh, felt goosebumps all over his body.

Dwenoh had an incredibly ferocious expression.

"It's a demonic dragon that betrayed the world."

[You lowly humans! How dare you!]

Gimyeon, who had lost his reason, roared at the sky.

His body was mangled.

It was literally a one-sided fight.

Leo and Gimyeon had almost equal strength.

But there was an unbridgeable gap between a great hero who saved the world and a dragon who begged for his life and lived safely because he feared death.

"Where are you looking, lizard."

[Now even a dwarf dares to…]

Thwack-!

A chilling sound echoed.

The axe blade of the battle axe wielded by Dwenoh ripped through Gimyeon's wingpit.

[Kieeeeeeek!]

A pained scream from Gimyeon echoed.

After that, Dwenoh's axe blade brutally chopped Gimyeon's body.

Thwack! Crunch! Grrrr!

Dwenoh stood on Gimyeon's body and chopped it down as if mincing it.

And he thoroughly ravaged Gimyeon's body to a level that he would not die, but would suffer immense pain.

Even the surrounding demons, not to mention Arch, froze at the cruel sight.

Clank-!

Dwenoh, resting his battle axe on his shoulder, raised his head.

"What are you looking at?"

Leo, who had tracked Gimyeon down and descended to the ground, was staring intently at Dwenoh.

"Do you… have memories?"

"Memories? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then why did you kill him like that?"

Dwenoh, with a frown and a look of incomprehension, brought his battle axe down.

Thwack-!

Gimyeon's head, which was dying, flew off by Dwenoh's axe blade.

Seeing Gimyeon instantly die with his head severed, Dwenoh spat.

"This guy is a lizard who betrayed the world."

Dwenoh looked down at Gimyeon's severed head with disgust.

Dwenoh looked at Leo with a perplexed expression.

"Don't you think such an end is only natural?"