Book 6 Chapter 6
Chapter 130
“Bell Quirius.”
Infinitely amplified concentration stretched the sense of time endlessly, making everything unfolding before his eyes seem as slow and distinct as watching hundreds of pictures in sequence.
This was Bell Quirius's true power, and what boosted that power to its limit was the immeasurable magic swirling within his body.
The nature of this magic, unlike ordinary magic, was not colorless but fire-attributed. Bell Quirius, and all magic he used, was cast with the attribute of fire.
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
Witnessing the spiderwebs that had been raging across heaven and earth instantly perish, the warriors and adventurers dared not close their mouths.
He blocked it?
He blocked it?
The blow from that ancient noble, Baekdoryeong Shar'kas?
‘I’ve gained such immense power, and yet…….’
At that moment, the thought that consumed the boy's mind, the emotion that weighed on his chest, was nothing but an unspeakable sorrow.
[Alakish hugging the baby dragon that hatched from its egg.]
Every time he gathered and wove magic into a torrent of flames, a sorrowful poetic image flashed before his eyes.
[Alakish smilingly watching the baby dragon play in the snow.]
The echo of the future Alakish treasured and yearned for in his heart, the afterimage of a future he didn't want to give up, the regret left in the superimposed soul……
[The baby dragon smiling brightly while eating Alakish’s cooking.]
He must have wanted to hug it directly, must have wanted to take it south directly, must have wanted to see all those scenes directly.
“You……”
You’re entrusting all of that to me now?
The future you had envisioned, so miserably meager, so sadly simple…… why did it have to end like this?
“I will never forgive you……”
It’s because of this guy.
Everything…… it’s because of this guy.
「Interesting. What will you do if you can’t forgive me?」
With a stench that made one's nose feel like it would fall off, hundreds of divided spiderwebs assailed them from all directions.
“Reyn───!”
No sooner had Casena’s urgent cry been heard than he struck the ground with his Staff of Fire, and ancient flames surged forth, incinerating the charging spiderwebs.
As if those spiderwebs were a mere diversion, Shar'kas appeared behind him and pierced the boy's heart.
No, at the very moment he thought it was surely pierced, the four-faced staff flew in, wielding flames, and deflected the attack.
‘Is that…… weapon itself imbued with will?’
He retreats, glaring at the youngster constructing a magic circle, and thinks. What was that? I sense the presence of an Asura's avatar from that weapon.
‘I don’t know what happened, but if this was Carenden’s plan.’
I absolutely cannot let him live and escape. Right here, right now, I, Shar'kas, will destroy him. I can only draw out 20% of my full power, but it will be enough.
The next moment, dozens of fireballs fiercely glowed and plummeted.
As Shar'kas swung his spiderwebs, the fireballs were bisected in mid-air, and their fragments crashed here and there, shaking the earth's crust.
In that instant of chaos, Shar'kas's spider leg, having instantly closed the distance again, aimed for the boy's heart, but—
KAAANG────!
But once again, with a grating metallic sound, sparks filled the view, and the spider leg was repelled.
This fellow……?
Not just the weapon, but unlike Carenden, does he also have an aptitude for close combat?
“Rune alteration, Push (攆), Point (點).”
No sooner had that incantation been uttered, the flow (流) barrier seemed to emit fierce flames…… then the fireballs that had been scattered and burning here and there floated up and flew to surround Shar'kas.
「Your movements are better than before.」
Shar'kas didn't block the attack; instead, he extended a dozen spiderwebs towards the boy.
The threat of spiderwebs that blasphemously tore the sky, ravenously devoured the atmosphere, and blackened and engulfed the ground.
There, contrary to Shar'kas’s expectation, the boy did not switch from offense to defense but instead spewed silvery-white phosphorescence from his eyes.
“Bell Quirius.”
He perceived and calculated the formation formula of the ancient god's power that desecrated the principle, disrupting the framework that made that power possible.
Hwa-reuk-reuk-reuk───!
The soul of a true dragon is fire. When the ancient god's power was violated by the magic derived from it, the spiderwebs, which were just about to pierce his pupils, weren't merely cut off from their power framework but were incinerated into charred lumps.
「!」
At the same time, the fragments of the fireballs he had raised earlier engulfed Shar'kas, and with a dazzling explosion, an indescribable blast of heat swirled.
“Did we get him……!”
He heard Griffion's shout.
No…….
Cold sweat streamed down Reyn's forehead, who could see beyond the smoke with Bell Quirius.
「No matter how much you rampage, you’re still human.」
When was it, Shar'kas, who had formed a cocoon of countless spiderwebs to defend his entire body, casually walked out, scattering the flames with his webs.
As expected, I need determination.
To defeat this guy, this monster, I need a resolve that defies death. While this guy is still probing me, while he's off guard…….
「So what’s next?」
In the endlessly stretching time, ancient fire and primeval darkness intersected countless times, and cracks began to spread across the strata of the area.
Once, ten times, thirty times…….
Just when a pillar of fire seemed to light up the sky, darkness would engulf the earth repeatedly, and in the center, spider legs and staffs continuously clashed, scattering sparks wildly.
‘I’m pouring out 4th-tier magic amplified by [尊] almost infinitely, yet I can't even make a scratch……?’
Gasping desperately, he spun his staff around to parry the spider leg that had reached his face.
‘The power of 4th-tier magic can't defeat this immortal. He just regenerates easily…….’
But this guy said it earlier.
If he had been careless against the 5th-tier magic, Lightning Blood Discharge, whose power was amplified by Yuryang Sejon, he would have suffered a fatal injury.
Then, whether I can land that directly or not will be the decisive factor in this battle…….
“Rune creation, Soaring (翪).”
He created the attribute of 'enveloping the caster with wings', and as he solved the mathematical formula presented by the Quantity (量) rune, wings of flame firmly enveloped his body.
This isn’t a shield; it’s a trap.
A trap to make Shar'kas think he’s won…….
Chwa-reureuk-reuk────!
At that moment, the spiderwebs that tore through dimensions and flew from all directions were hastily destroyed by the flapping wings of flame. He definitely thought so.
「It's insignificant compared to an Asura's avatar.」
At that instant, a searing pain spread across his side, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Gasp…….
A single spiderweb, wriggling with a strange light, had torn through the fiery wings and pierced his side.
「You were full of flaws, not even worth being wary of.」
The spiderweb that pierced his side crawled out the other side, wrapping around his body and attempting to crush his bones and muscles. Just then.
“Yes, it’s a flaw……”
I deliberately opened it up…… to create this one moment when you are perfectly off guard.
Now, here, I’ll make my decisive move.
My first and last decisive move.
Immediately, the pent-up indignation, heavy as lead in his chest, was spat out with blood, and he formed the hand seal of Warning (警).
“Bind…… Je-seo-swa-ran-yeon (制誓鎖攔鍊)!”
Hwa-reuk, with the sound of flames rising, the Warning (警) circle brilliantly ignited, and from within it, clear chains of karmic fire surged.
Char-reureureung───!
Perhaps sensing an ominous aura from the charging chains, which scattered embers, Shar'kas's body dissolved into pale vapor, leaving a long tail as he retreated.
I won't miss him.
Absolutely won't miss him.
Blood-light, red ripples erupted from his eyes, which saw through the essence of all nature, creating disturbances in the principles altered by Baekdoryeong.
「What……?」
For an instant, Shar'kas's eyes widened.
What happened?
He had surely transformed his body into an amorphous state…… but suddenly, his form had returned to the one-armed boy’s physique.
Before he could get an answer to that question, chains of flame, burning with transcendent heat, pierced Shar'kas’s soul.
「This is……?」
Shar'kas coughed up black blood and clutched the chains of fire piercing his chest…… but his fingers, with a fizzle, were powerless burned away.
‘Even super-fast regeneration isn't happening.’
Is that human brat using fire more powerful than an Asura's avatar? No, that's not it.
It's those eyes.
Those eyes are doing something.
But how, exactly…… how can mortal perception interfere with this immortal body?
“The gods, they don't go to hell, do they……?”
When that voice was heard, the red-eyed boy had already formed a hand seal.
It must be an arrangement of characters to prepare power, but it was a familiar preparatory motion even to Shar'kas’s eyes…… wasn't that the lightning technique from earlier?
But one thing was different. That single difference made Shar'kas’s eyes tremble with dread.
Fire (火).
Field (場).
Cast (投).
Fall (落).
Flash (剡).
That's dangerous…… As Baekdoryeong's eyes snapped open, the mountains and rivers groaned so much that the entire ground lifted, yet the chains' restraint was strong enough to endure even that.
「How dare a mere human……!」
Perhaps it was this utter insolence that was intolerable, for Baekdoryeong for the first time unleashed an immortal power of a fundamentally different scale than that of a mortal being.
Shar'kas’s body, not yet bound by the flames, dissolved into countless spiderwebs, then instantly rushed before the boy’s eyes, and coalesced into a grotesquely alien, colossal form.
The primeval madness of thousands of wriggling eyeballs…… hundreds of blasphemously squirming venomous fangs in a horrifyingly vast maw…….
At the instant that cosmic nightmare, like a vortex, was about to suck in, corrupt, and swallow the entire dimension, consuming the boy's body whole.
“This is the hellfire I prepared for you, take it.”
Flame Mirror: The flames that surged simultaneously from all the original formations of Yuryang Sejon coalesced into the form of a dragon, ascending into the sky, then soaked the earth with a dazzling flash that seemed to scorch the retinas.
‘There’s no time to use it in seven separate blasts.’
The next moment, a thunderclap of fire that incinerated the very concepts of the three phases of existence—soul, matter, and spirit—struck the ground, stripping the world of all color, light and shadow, and sound.
‘One shot, ending it with one shot containing all infinite magic.’
With a roar more akin to an impact than a sound, a heatwave that felt like melting skin swirled with immense thermal energy, melting away all the snow and ice in the area.
Wheeeeeeee…….
The heatwave that had dominated a radius of hundreds of meters became a thick fog, creating an eerie silence.
For a moment, it seemed that a warm warmth governed the world, but then the mad, cold wind that ruled this land blew again, sending pangs of pain through his entire body.
Pressing the gaping wound in his side with his hand, as he painfully coughed up blood, Pipi flew over and rubbed her face against his cheek.
“Pipi……”
Was poison injected when his side was pierced? His entire body was numb.
Fortunately, perhaps due to the power of the red dragon flowing through his body, the abyss's erosion didn't seem to be occurring, but…….
He had already surpassed the stage beyond his limits long ago, by simultaneously using Bell Quirius and his mental barrier.
‘This is also why I pushed myself to make a decisive move…….’
Even if he held magic close to infinity in his hands, a human vessel was too fragile to wield that power.
“It has to end. If this can’t end it…….”
There is no next time…… just as he thought that, an absolute nightmare, making his entire body tingle, walked out from beyond the steam, and his heart pounded.
It was Baekdoryeong, Shar'kas.
Nearly half of his body was charred by the ancient flames, dark blue foam constantly forming numerous eyeballs and then dissolving back into spiderwebs.
“Run away, Pipi. Quickly.”
“No, no, no.”
“Listen to me! Look at that, he’s regenerating…… slowly but surely…….”
Of his mesmerizingly beautiful face, only his right eye remained intact.
「How dare, how dare a mere human……!」
The rest was completely charred, leaving only a skeletal frame oozing sticky slime, a truly horrifying sight.
「Don’t make me laugh…… I am Shar'kas…… a body reawakened by the king’s summons…….」
Even as he staggered and stumbled, walking straight towards them at this very moment, the aristocratic dignity emanating from his words and actions was utterly unyielding.
「Lord Ashron, the Spider Monarch…… and the great kingdom he will rule again…….」
How many seconds did he watch that scene, overwhelmed, until Griffion, regaining his senses, urgently gathered the warriors.
“Warriors, protect Reyn Ludwig, son of Kaeven! Do not let Baekdoryeong get close!”
“No, don’t! Stop! You’ll all die!”
Ah, ahhh…….
All the warriors who blocked his path to protect him were slaughtered by spiderwebs that shot out from his one remaining finger, leaving bloodstains on the exposed black earth.
「For the new cornerstone of that eternal dynasty…… I am Baekdoryeong Shar'kas, a true noble and royal, personally awakened by the King……!」
Even Griffion, warrior among warriors, could not resist that power; he struggled for nearly 10 seconds but ultimately had one wing torn off and was flung far away.
“You too, Pipi, quickly! Please!”
Even as that nightmare approached slowly but surely, whether due to the side effects of intense power or overwhelmed by fear, his body didn't budge.
“Pipi!”
“No, no, no, I promised Friede, Pipi will protect Reyn.”
“Go───!”
The moment Shar'kas, who had now reached right before his eyes, cast a gloomy shadow over his face, the moment Pipi flew to block his path.
Pipi's defeat, Pipi's death, was as clear as day, so at the very moment he screamed pleadingly.
Suddenly, an invisible hand emerged and pulled Pipi back with all its might, and at the same time, something red flew and struck Shar'kas.
‘Red……?’
A strong sense of incongruity struck him about that red something he had just seen. He blinked repeatedly, then turned to look in the direction it had flown from, and the direction he had been pulled.
It was Casena.
Casena, her face covered in tears.
She was drawing strange runes in the air, runes he had never seen before, with a sacred energy emanating from them.
“No way……”
He gasped and turned his head again, seeing that the one who had tackled Shar'kas and rolled on the ground with him, even as his limbs were severed by spiderwebs, was…… Alakish.
It was a promise.
The promise Casena made with Alakish.
- The reason this Alakish was chosen as the guardian here is one: all true dragons are vessels for seals.
- ……?
- Even if Reyn awakens, he won’t be able to destroy Shar'kas's divinity, so at that time, you must take this body of Alakish and…….
The binding spell of the seal that Carenden carved into all true dragons, so that this body could become a new vessel for the seal and protect humanity from the abyss.
- Now, what are you talking about now……?
- This Alakish will die anyway.
- No, you won’t die! Why would you die! Why are you saying such things?
- Please, Casena Page…… you are the only friend I have to entrust the end of my mission to…….
At that time, Casena blankly faced Alakish, and when Alakish smiled sadly, she finally had no choice but to close her eyes tightly and nod.
That is why now.
She finished drawing the last stroke of the rune with trembling, tearful fingers…….
“Goodbye, Alakish……”
At that moment, the more complex runes carved on Alakish's back began to glow as if in resonance.
「This light is……?」
Alakish's body began to transform into a dragon's skeletal structure, binding not only Shar'kas’s body but also his immense soul.
It was a seal so perfect and precise that it was on a different dimension compared to the chains Reyn had used.
Thump, thump, thump-thump-thump…… the dragon's ribs ruthlessly pierced the boy's chest, and its wing bones and leg bones burrowed deep into the ground, firmly anchoring the skeletal structure.
「Now, where are you laying your hands…… on this sacred body crafted by the King……!」
The instant Shar'kas thrashed and frantically swung his spiderwebs, everything in the area was swept away as if space itself were torn apart.
But that was all.
Perhaps he couldn't contend with Carenden's surprise spell in such a weakened state, and in unmanageable humiliation, a sharp shriek erupted from Shar'kas, his death rattle.
「You lowly…… creatures worse than maggots…… how dare, how dare youuuu─────!」
So mighty was the abyss carried in that scream that the heads of the nearby beastmen warriors brutally exploded, scattering their brains everywhere.
Was that truly the end?
Just as an overwhelming silence seemed to settle, suddenly the ancient beings and the undead that had been attacking the beastmen from all sides began to twist their bodies grotesquely, or collapse, or rampage, or flee somewhere.
“……?”
Everything, all the important events, had happened so instantly that the sense of reality felt thin.
What is this?
What happened?
He managed to somehow raise his upper body with his paralyzed limbs, and Casena ran towards the skeletal structure, hugged it, and began to weep inconsolably. Pipi flew over her head.
“Alakish, Alakish, Alakish.”
Even after finally understanding the situation, something heavy as lead filled his chest, preventing tears from coming out. Something, something, stifling…….
It was at that very moment.
Crack, crackle, crackle-crack…… at the sound from behind, a small, weak, but stubborn sound of life, his heart plummeted.
“Uh……?”
He hurriedly turned his head, and it seemed he saw cracks spreading on the dragon egg…… then the next moment, something peeked its face out.
The red barbs were not yet fully healed.
Its wings were covered in slime.
The majestic golden dragon eyes were round, perhaps because it was still a hatchling.
He listened blankly to his heart pounding loudly enough to echo in his ears, for what felt like an eternity, as if time had stopped.
This, this, must be the miraculous moment Alakish had treasured and envisioned for so long…… his breath caught in his throat, and at that moment, his gaze met the baby dragon's.
As soon as it did, the baby dragon smiled brightly and yelped, and at that instant, he felt a heart-bursting pain.
“Ma kiome!”
Ma kiome.
The meaning of this dragon language was ‘my mother.’
The baby dragon finally broke the rest of its egg and crawled out sluggishly.
Lovably clumsy, it flew then fell, crawled on all fours across the ground, and eventually came to his feet, rubbing its head against his leg and continuously yelping.
Ma kiome, it said.
“No, it’s not me……”
His mouth hung open blankly. The one who should be called mother by you, the one worthy of it, is not me.
It was meaningless, no matter how much he shook his head madly in denial.
The baby dragon, which had somehow climbed up his leg to his chest, was eagerly babbling, licking his cheeks, chin, and nose all over.
“Ma, mama, ki, kiome.”
The baby dragon’s body was pleasantly warm and smelled like burning logs on a winter’s day, just as Alakish had.
Did that familiar warmth and scent of life reawaken his sense of reality, the memories of the past three months? Tears streamed endlessly from both his eyes at that moment.
Just as it was in the simple yet dazzling future Alakish had envisioned, he finally hugged the baby dragon tightly and began to sob quietly.
Yes.
That was the moment I met you.