Chapter 176:
The brilliant white flash, exploding in the ash-covered wasteland, was so intense that it stopped all the fighting.
Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed on the dust cloud, for several minutes.
The white dragon and Seo Jae-yi slowly emerged from the dissipating dust.
“Cough!”
Seo Jae-yi was the first to make a sound. She lay on the ground, her body convulsing, electrical currents coursing through her. She coughed up blood with every tremor.
Her body was covered in wounds, as if she had been mauled, blood soaking her clothes.
Despite her injuries, she gritted her teeth and looked up at the white dragon.
It stood tall and proud, but it wasn’t unscathed.
Its right arm, along with a part of its torso, was gone, its draconic defenses no match for Seo Jae-yi’s white flames.
“Heh.”
Seo Jae-yi chuckled, seeing the cauterized wound sizzling, despite her mangled body, barely able to hold herself up.
<…Human.>
The white dragon looked down at its missing arm. It hadn’t expected such a devastating counterattack, not after unleashing its breath.
‘And my regeneration is slow.’
The residual heat from her flames was interfering with its regenerative abilities.
It looked back at Seo Jae-yi. It was the first time it had felt a chill of fear, seeing a human, covered in blood, smiling like that.
Sacrificing its brethren to observe her had been a wise decision. Their deaths hadn’t been in vain.
“You’re a formidable human.”
It spoke in Korean, having quickly learned the language.
“I understand why my brethren follow you.”
“Really? Then do you want to serve me too?”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. You’re going to die here.”
She was a remarkable human. That was precisely why it couldn’t let her live.
“I can’t have a dead master.”
“You’re right. I can’t have a dead subordinate.”
Seo Jae-yi grinned, her blood-stained teeth bared in a feral smile.
“…What?”
“You’re going to die here, you bastard. Not just you, but all the dragons here. Except for my Logi, of course.”
“In your condition?”
“I didn’t say I would kill you all.”
The white dragon looked at her, confused.
“Are you bluffing?”
“It’s not a bluff; it’s a promise. And these wounds are nothing. You haven’t forgotten that an Esper doesn’t die until their Guide is dead, have you?”
The white dragon’s face hardened.
It had confirmed that her Guide wasn’t here.
“It’s almost time.”
Seo Jae-yi glanced at her watch, and the white dragon finally understood.
Her Guide wasn’t here yet.
But he wasn’t absent. He would be arriving soon.
<Kill anything that comes through the gate!>
It roared at the sunset dragon, which had been keeping Elizer in check.
The sunset dragon, understanding the situation, immediately flew towards the gate.
“No!”
Elizer yelled, knowing Baek Joo-won couldn’t die.
He was about to intercept the sunset dragon, even if it meant pushing himself beyond his limits, when…
“Eli, it’s okay. Let him go.”
Seo Jae-yi stopped him. Elizer looked at her, bewildered.
“But if Baek Joo-won dies…!”
“It’s fine. He won’t die. Do you really think I would put him in danger?”
Elizer relaxed slightly at her confident words. It seemed she had a plan, just like with Airok.
“So that’s your scheme.”
The white dragon, now fluent in Korean, narrowed its eyes, listening to their conversation.
“But it doesn’t matter. He won’t be able to kill my brethren instantly. I’ll kill you before your Guide arrives.”
Rumble.
The sky roared again, dark clouds gathering ominously. A lightning bolt, even more powerful than the one that had struck Seo Jae-yi, was brewing.
“Seo Jae-yi!”
Elizer was about to create a portal to send her to safety when…
“…Huh?”
The sky… stilled.
The white dragon, which had been about to unleash its lightning, looked up, its face a mask of shock and disbelief.
“That energy…”
From the gate, where the sunset dragon was heading.
A chilling energy was emanating from it. An energy similar to a dragon’s, yet distinctly different.
And it was identical to the energy Seo Jae-yi possessed.
The white dragon turned to look at her, dumbfounded.
“Don’t tell me… you…”
“You’re perceptive.”
Seo Jae-yi smirked. She placed her hand over her heart.
Thump, thump, thump.
Her heart was pounding faster than usual. It wasn’t from the excitement of battle.
‘I can feel it.’
Baek Joo-won.
She could sense his energy, her Guide, her lover, his presence washing over her. He had entered the dungeon.
And at the same time, a surge of power, as if she had regained something she had lost, coursed through her body.
It wasn’t just a feeling; it was a tangible increase in her strength.
‘Is this even possible?’
Could she really react this instantaneously, just from being in the same space as Baek Joo-won?
She had another question to ask him, besides the one about her unchanging overload level.
Seo Jae-yi unconsciously turned her head towards the gate, where Baek Joo-won would be.
“Ah.”
Baek Joo-won inhaled deeply as soon as he stepped through the gate.
The pungent smell of blood filled the air, but he barely registered it.
His keen senses honed in on Seo Jae-yi’s scent.
His eyes softened, recognizing her familiar energy.
Just being in the same space as her filled him with a sense of… completeness, his power surging.
‘Seo Jae-yi must be feeling the same.’
She must have also noticed the changes in her body.
He was curious about her reaction.
He was about to head towards her when the scent of blood finally registered, and he turned, his gaze fixed on…
The mangled corpse of the red dragon.
Its head was scorched, its body riddled with holes, one of its wings torn off. It was the source of the strongest scent of blood.
There was only one person capable of inflicting such damage on a dragon.
Seo Jae-yi.
His Esper, his lover.
“Impressive.”
He would have loved to witness her slaying the dragon; it must have been a magnificent sight.
“Ah.”
Something was approaching. He turned and saw the sunset dragon flying towards him.
It stopped abruptly, its face a mask of shock, recognizing him.
<…You…?>
It spoke in the familiar dragon tongue.
<Why are you here…?>
The sunset dragon was bewildered. He wasn’t human. He was… one of them, a monster, a fellow dragon, albeit in a different form.
But why was he here, disguised as a human?
‘And that energy…’
It was the same energy as the terrifying human, the energy she possessed.
That meant he was her ally.
<So you too have sided with the humans, along with that blue dragon?>
<Humans?>
Baek Joo-won scoffed. What a ridiculous notion.
<Why would I side with humans?>
<You’re not?>
<I’m not on the humans’ side. I don’t care about humans.>
Baek Joo-won smiled brightly.
But his actions belied his words. He began to gather his power.
As if preparing for battle.
<I’m on my lover’s side. And I don’t forgive those who threaten her.>
A brilliant light enveloped Baek Joo-won, his form shifting and changing.
His brown hair lengthened, turning gold, antlers sprouting from his head. Iridescent scales emerged on his pale skin.
<Like you, for example, reeking of my lover’s blood.>
The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a cold fury, his eyes now a vibrant green.
He recognized the scent, the sweet, agonizingly familiar scent of Seo Jae-yi’s blood.
His pupils elongated into slits, and his body began to grow.
<…Ah.>
The sunset dragon stumbled back, awed by his transformation.
A body far larger than its own 20-meter frame, covered in long, golden fur, sharp talons like an eagle’s, iridescent scales shimmering in the light.
The beautiful Mireu, shedding its human disguise, revealed its true form.
<It’s been a while since I’ve been in my true form.>
Baek Joo-won, no, Hae-wi, smiled, a predatory grin.
His human form, similar to Seo Jae-yi’s, hadn’t been unpleasant, but he preferred his true form. It was a liberating sensation.
He couldn’t wait to see Seo Jae-yi’s reaction.
He had to kill this dragon quickly and return to her.
Hae-wi, without warning, lunged at the sunset dragon, his body, far more agile than a dragon’s, coiling around it.
<Ugh!>
The sunset dragon thrashed in his grip, its neck constricted. It raised its body temperature, hoping to burn him.
<Ah, so you’re a Heat Esper.>
Hae-wi’s eyes narrowed.
The one who had injured Seo Jae-yi, possessing the same ability as her… He was even more displeased now.
He had to kill it quickly.
<That won’t work on me.>
He had endured Seo Jae-yi’s overload; this paltry heat was nothing. And he was even stronger here, in her presence.
Hae-wi opened his jaws wide, bit down on one of its wings, and ripped it off.
<Raaaaargh!>
The sunset dragon’s scream echoed through the dungeon.
<You bastard!>
Dozens of fire spears materialized in the air and hurtled towards Hae-wi. Even he couldn’t easily defend against a dragon’s spears. They pierced his scales, embedding themselves deep in his flesh.
<Is that all?>
But Hae-wi’s expression didn’t change.
He reacted as if he had been pricked by needles, despite the fire spears piercing his scales.
The sunset dragon thought he was bluffing, but then its eyes widened in disbelief.
His wounds were regenerating at an incredible speed. Even for a monster with regenerative abilities, this was… unnatural. It defied logic.
<What…?!>
<Your power can’t kill me.>
Hae-wi, whose regenerative abilities were so potent that he could survive even decapitation.
And the sunset dragon’s ability was heat manipulation, the very ability Hae-wi was most resistant to.
It was impossible for it to kill him.
While the dragon was distracted, realizing its attacks were futile, Hae-wi tightened his coils.
Its neck snapped, its focus momentarily broken.
The massive body crashed to the ground as Hae-wi released his grip.
‘I should make sure it’s dead.’
A dragon could survive even a broken neck, so Hae-wi pierced its chest with his claws.
He extracted the blood-soaked magic stone. It wouldn’t be able to regenerate without its magic stone.
He swallowed the magic stone whole and then flew towards Seo Jae-yi, his senses guiding him.
His expression hardened slightly as he got closer.
Her energy felt weaker than usual. And the scent of her blood was growing stronger, as if she had been seriously injured.
She wouldn’t die easily, not with her transformed body, but he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
And then he saw it.
The ravaged landscape, the ground cracked and broken, lava spewing from the fissures.
And Seo Jae-yi, lying motionless in the center of it all.