After waking up from his hibernation period, Blanc searched for the red dragons. Because the first person he could think of that their race could rely on in this world devastated by the war was none other than Ellid himself.
ButâŠ
âThe red dragons have abandoned us.â
The words spoken by the returning Karne were more than enough to drive a cold dagger into Blancâs heart and twist it ruthlessly.
âThey are no longer our kin. No, theyâre just traitors, thatâs all.â
Karneâs rage against the red dragons exceeded everyoneâs imagination.
His animosity towards the red dragons was stronger than any of his kinâs, and he even forced this view onto the newer generations of dragons.
He said that the red dragons were traitors that had abandoned their race.
Of course, some dragons didnât believe him. They were the ones that remembered the red dragons and Ellid. Just like Blanc, they truly believed the red dragons had not forsaken them. But, over the centuries, it became hard to not doubt.
This was where their differing beliefs had led them.
âExplain yourself, Karne.â Blancâs heavy, low voice growled like a wild beastâs.
None of his kin present failed to understand where his emotions and rage came from. Those who knew how long Blanc had waited for the red dragonsâ return easily understood his feelings.
To make matters worse, Blanc had believed that Ellid and the other red dragons were still alive somewhereâthat there was a reason why they had to run, that they could not have abandoned them without a solid reason.
Thatâs what he believed and told the others.
The red dragons had a reason to leave. That was true. There were waiting somewhere and maybe, just maybe, they would come back one day.
That was as wrong as Karne saying the red dragons were traitors.
They hadnât run away.
Because they were all dead.
âI said, explain yourself. Now!!â
Blancâs naked killing intent spread out everywhere. But it wasnât just him aloneâthe same could be said of his kin that had believed Karneâs version until now.
The sense of betrayal.
Karneâs brows shot up as he received the brunt of the overwhelming emotions of hundreds of his kin.
âHold on, everyone. Youâre all too agitated right now.â
âWithout a doubt, there mustâve been some kind of misunderstanding. You know that Sir Karne isnât that type of person, donât you?â
As was the case with everything, blind loyalty and faith always persisted. But that extended only up to a point. And itâd take only a single moment to betray such loyalty.
âEveryone, just calm down and letâs hear fromâŠ.â
Kyah-aaaah-!
A loud dragonâs roar resounded over the crowd.
Seizing the opening created by the commotion, Karne instantly leaped up into the air. At the same time, his body ballooned and his previously human-like appearance transformed into that of a dragon sporting the âorangeâ color that was far closer to gold in hue.
âS-sir?!â
âSir, my a**! Catch him!!â
Blanc roared at the top of his voice.
Learning more about what happened in detail was nice and all that, but right now, apprehending the escaping Karne took priority.
Unfortunately, no one was capable of catching up to Karne once he was deadly serious about running away. He mustâve planned his escape from the get-go, because he even activated short-distance teleportation magic several times in a row to fly far away.
âThat son of aâŠ!!â
Blanc urgently transformed. The same thing happened to the other dragons, as well. Their human-like appearances couldnât produce the kind of speed necessary to pursue Karne.
<< We must hunt him down. >>
As he transformed back into a massive blue dragon, Blanc continued to grit his teeth.
And so, many, many dragons began their heated pursuit of the escaping Karne.
âŠAll the while completely forgetting about the existence of a lone human who had vanished from the spot earlier.
Act 7
Flap-
Swiiiiiish-
A massive figure quickly scythed through the air, his huge wings beating away.
The dragon with the near-golden hue, Karne, issued an enraged roar, his sharply curved fangs on full display.
-Dammit, dammit!
Karneâs roars continued for a while.
He thought his heart would explode from the indignation. One measly human he didnât even pay much attention to ended up pouring ash all over his well-prepared feast.
âMan, I finally caught up with you.â
-�
Karne was stunned silly by a soft voice coming from above his head, and hurriedly looked up. But, at that exact momentâŠ
Craaaack-!
Stagger-
The powerful force emanating from his head caused Karneâs flying body to shake greatly.
-It canât beâŠ
âWhere are you in such a hurry to get to, I wonder?â
Craaaack-!
Fists laden with magical energy slammed down on Karneâs head once more.
âBefore you leaveâŠ.â Su-hyeun, straddling the top of the fleeing dragonâs head, mercilessly pounded down on the dragon with his fists held high. âYou shouldâve apologized to Miru first.â
Swiiiiish-
Crack, boooom-!
That terrifying punch finally forced Karneâs body out of the sky.
Kyah-aaaaah-!
-Just whenâŠ!
âIt was really hard catching up to you. When I saw you looking so shifty-eyed, I wondered if you really were planning to run, but, man, I was so right.â
-Dammit!
As he fell to the ground below, Karne angrily shook his head. At the same time, his entire body began glowing red-hot.
[Armor of Conflagration.]
A heat that would make even boiling lava feel lukewarm caused Su-hyeun to hurriedly leap away from the dragonâs body. If he insisted on staying there, then his butt resting on the dragonâs head might have gotten royally roasted.
CRASH-!
Right after that, Karneâs body crashed on the ground. Su-hyeun put some distance between himself and the stifling heat he felt from the fallen dragonâs figure, then landed safely back on solid ground.
âWhoo, whoo.â
He urgently blew at his hands after feeling the heat still lingering there. But, when he thought about it for a second, the heat wasnât the real issue here.
<< Thatâs some amazing toughness. >>
The orange-colored dragon. Just one grade below the red dragons. But Karne was also the oldest of all orange-colored dragons, too.
After the war, most of the old dragons died out, and only those youngsters who were in their hibernation periods at the time survived to this day. Still, there was little doubt that Karneâs scales were incredibly tough.
Even if he used a sword and not his bare fists, penetrating Karneâs scales would still be a challenge.
GrrrrâŠ..
Karne pushed his crash-landed body back up and glared at Su-hyeun. Now that they were face-to-face like this, the latter couldnât help but see the former in a new light.
<< Heâs definitely a world apart from that green dragon. >>
A size that easily rivaled the average skyscraper. The thick, heavy concentration of magical energy emanated from his skin and scales.
Orange color, and the oldest of the lotâthat was Karne.
<< The defensive capability of his scales is incredible, and thereâs no need to even mention the sheer variety of magic spells he mustâve mastered by now, too. >>
This was a fight against a real dragon, in other words.
Sha-shing-
Su-hyeun unsheathed his sword. And thenâŠ
âCome out.â
Riiiip-
The moment he called out, Miru tore through space and emerged beside Su-hyeun.
Gya-ong-!
âŠWith its mouth still biting into the Cintamani.
Miruâs sudden entrance shocked Karne slightly. But then he began glaring murderously at the Cintamani in the young red dragonâs maw.
-Itâs all because of you two.
GrrrrrâŠ
An enraged roar exploded out from Karneâs maw.
-You ruined everything!
Ruuuumble-
An incredible wave of killing intent enveloped everything along with the dragonâs roar.
The scorching heatwave flooded the surroundings. Su-hyeun hurriedly raised his hand and shielded his face from the heat.
âHey, this isnât even a case of anger management issues, so what gives? What are you suddenly getting angry at us for?â
Of course, it wasnât as if he didnât understand Karneâs motivations. Well, Karne did lose everything he had built up for centuries because of their actions, after all. But the matter being understandable didnât automatically make it justified, either. Also, there was no real reason to understand it, either.
âYou know the saying, you reap what you sow? Thatâs exactly whatâs happening here.â
Slash-
Clang-!
Su-hyeun swung his sword downward, but the sword energy stretching out was blocked by the several layers of barriers protecting the area around Karneâs body.
âHey, Miru.â
Gya-ong-
âFly up and keep your distance, okay? Donât stick too close but still support me from the rear with your Breath and buffs. You get it, right?â
Gya-ong-!
âAlright. Well, thenâŠ.â Su-hyeun said, his eyes locked on Karne, currently amassing an incredible amount of magical energy inside his mouth. âLetâs go.â
Paht, flap-
Su-hyeun and Miru moved simultaneously. At the same time, a massive Breath attack shot out of Karneâs mouth.
Ruuuumble-!
For a moment, the whole world was dyed a golden color.
Su-hyeun leaped up high in the air and observed the ground below. A small hill near his original position was vaporized in an instant. As far as destructive power was concerned, that Breath was the real deal.
<< Even so⊠so slow. >>
Gu-woooo-
But the attack didnât end there. Su-hyeunâs flying figure was suddenly suppressed by an oppressive feeling. He began tottering while raising his arms and lost his balance. In the meantime, Karne unfurled his wings and was about to fly up again.
It was a gravity-type magic. He mustâve been planning to restrict Su-hyeunâs movements first and then fire another round of Breath.
<< Even then, if itâs only this muchâŠ. >>
[Leap.]
Su-hyeun stepped on the air once more. His body felt several times heavier, but that didnât really matter to him.
<< I can still move. >>
Ruuuumble-
The Breath soared by in front of him.
<< Dragging this fight on wonât do me any good. >>
Karne was a completely different type of opponent than the Titan Turtle.
When you fought a Titan Turtle, you had to fight for a long time, gradually shaving down its ridiculous defenses. Karne was the type of opponent armed to the teeth with hundreds, if not thousands, of different magic spells as well as a powerful weapon called Breath.
Even if Su-hyeunâs magic resistance was on the high side, he didnât know how well that would stack up against an opponent of Karneâs caliber.
More importantly, if the fight was taken to the air, Su-hyeun would suffer from an overwhelming disadvantage. He made up his mind quickly, having already witnessed the power behind Karneâs Breath.
<< Iâll break through it. >>
Giiii-iiiing-
Magical energy began gathering on his sword.
[Explosion Style.]
The magical power coalescing in one point began expanding, as if to shatter the blade at any second.
[Indomitable Body.]
[Armor of the Mage.]
[Sky Kingâs Feather.]
Su-hyeun even enveloped his body with specialized anti-magic skills, as well. Although these skills didnât see much use when battling against monsters, they sure came in handy when he was fighting against a dragon.
Skills that werenât very effective against physical attacks were now just about perfect for the situation.
Not only thatâŠ
[Dragon Godâs Protection.]
[Reflect.]
Miruâs skills were overlaid on top of his.
<< This is more than enough. >>
There was no more need to hesitate. Su-hyeun dashed straight into the Breath fired by Karne.
Kwa-aaaaaaht-!
The huge Breath swallowed Su-hyeun up. Karne, firing the attack with everything he had, looked flustered.
<< Is he trying to kill himself?? >>
For a moment there, he even thought something preposterous, too.
But, soon enoughâŠ
Split-!
He realized how utterly wrong his thoughts were.
Kyah-aaaaaah-!
Because, Su-hyeun broke past the Breath, penetrated the barriers protecting Karneâs body to dig deep into the dragonâs front. And, while in that position, he swung the sword in a big arc, slicing up Karneâs scales from his shoulder down to his belly.
âMiru!!â
Su-hyeun didnât skip a beat and shouted. Miru, preparing for this moment when he had entered Karneâs barriers, finally released its own version of Breath.
Ruuuumble-
[High Breath.]
Miruâs Breath definitely didnât lose out to Karneâs. Such a powerful attack rained down on the orange dragon staggering from Su-hyeunâs sword strike.
Kiiiaaaaaaah-!
Karne writhed violently from the pain before he curled up into a ball. He urgently spread out protective barriers around his body, but they were just not enough. Miruâs Breath melted the barriers down, pushed past the scales and began scorching the flesh underneath.
It was hard to believe that a Breath of this magnitude came out of such a small body. The attackâs power managed to exceed Su-hyeunâs expectations once more.
But he thought he knew why Miruâs Breath had suddenly gained a power-up like this.
<< Could it be because of the Cintamani? >>
The Cintamani was supposed to strengthen the power of the dragon race. And only the red dragons, the descendants of the dragon king, could control the mysterious red marble.
Miru getting stronger after gaining the Cintamani made perfect sense, in a way.
<< Well, we still wonât see the end with just this much, so⊠>>
No matter how powerful Miruâs Breath had gotten, in the end it was still a power based on magical properties. Meaning Karne, boasting an excellent resistance against magic, wouldnât lose his combat capabilities from Miruâs Breath alone.
<< As I thought, this is the best one-shot kill method. >>
Su-hyeun grabbed the spears tied to his back.
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Jiiii-iiiing-
The moment he gripped the tightly-fastened spear, the weapon suddenly let out a keen, angry howl.
[Dragon Slaying Spear.]
The weapon passed down from ancient times, designed and crafted solely for the purpose of killing dragons. Three such throwing spears Su-hyeun used often in his previous life were now held firmly in his hand.