Chapter 336 – Destroyed (2)

Cale could see other injuries on Eruhaben as well.

Eruhaben's shirt was shabby after being damaged by the explosion.
He could see old scars on Eruhaben's chest, back, and stomach, as well as around his body.

'…A Dragon with old scars?'

This made Cale think about Choi Han and Witira, the future Whale Queen. They both had large and small scars throughout their bodies.
Even people considered to be some of the strongest in the world had scars on them.
There was a simple reason for it.

It was because they grew stronger.
Nobody can be strong from the beginning. They were bound to get scars as they developed and grew stronger.
It was similar to how Kim Rok Soo's entire body had been covered in disgusting scars.

"Goldie! Mmph!"

Cale hugged the flailing Raon's head and covered his mouth.

"Haaaa, does that little kid really want to call me like that even in a time like this?"

Cale could see Eruhaben's shoulders moving as he sighed. Cale then casually asked the Dragon who no longer seemed to be angry.

"Eruhaben-nim, when did I become your child?"
"Goldie! I am not a child, I am the great and mighty Raon Mi, mmph!"

Cale fully covered Raon's mouth and picked up the now heavier chubby Dragon's body. Raon seemed to be eating a good portion of the apple pies he supposedly bought for Cale, as he was very heavy.

"…Aigoo, my poor life."

The destructively beautiful Dragon turned around and looked toward Cale and the no longer invisible Raon before lamenting these troublemakers in his life. He then turned back again and stoically started to speak.

"Move away."

Eruhaben was looking at the White Star with a stoic expression as he told Cale and Raon to step back. He was especially looking at the sword in the White Star's hand.

It was a Sword of Disasters infused with fire.
That was probably the true Dragon Catcher's Sword of Disasters.

"It's been a while."

It had been a while since he was caught off guard and beaten up. But he realized something as that happened.
No, he realized it the moment that the numerous light arrows he had shot out were easily blocked by the water wall.

'I need to fight this guy.'

Ooooooooong-

A white gold light that was more beautiful than ever before started to surround Eruhaben. Enough mana to vibrate the air around him was shooting out from Eruhaben and spreading out.

It had been a while since he had been in a situation like this.
Eruhaben was using his full strength for the first time in a long time.

"Eruhaben, you are too arrogant. I am arrogant as well, but you seem to be even worse."

The dead Dragon Olienne's voice reverberated around his ears.

'Is it your narcissism that is keeping you alive?"

Olienne had been right.
Eruhaben was an arrogant Dragon whose narcissism kept him going.
He was extremely arrogant as Dragons had been for generations.
However, Eruhaben himself thought that there was justification as to why he could be so arrogant.

'Eruhaben, you said that they called you a natural fighter when you were younger?'

Although Eruhaben had quietly helped the Elves and the World Tree as well as some young Dragons safely finish their first growth phase here and there as he aged, he had originally been a fighter. That was what the Dragons had called him in the past.

However, the truth was that he was not a, 'natural,' fighter.

He had believed in the strength of his attribute as he worked hard and trained himself while others sneered and mocked his dust or powder attribute.
He just faced the other Dragons after training and developing that attribute.

Eruhaben sternly started to speak after still feeling the presences of Cale and Raon behind him.

"Move away."
"Eruhaben-nim."

He could hear Cale's voice. Eruhaben shook his head and responded back.

"I will do it."
"Goldie gramps!"

He could hear Raon's voice.
First was Cale and then it was Raon. Eruhaben let out a sigh.

'Why are there so many issues in my final years?'

However, Eruhaben could feel his blood boiling at the fact that he could fight at full power for the first time in a long time.

That was why he stepped forward as he commented back to Cale.

"Cale, you take good care of him."

It was obvious who that, 'him,' was referring to.
Cale activated his silver shield again and stepped back. He then released the Sound of the Wind after feeling something under his feet.

"…Hey."
"What?"

Cale landed on Mary's White Bone Dragon before bluntly responding back to Hannah who was calling him. Hannah looked at Cale, who had an approximately 1m 20cm Dragon in his arms, before turning away.

She looked up at the sky.

Screeeech-

The black clouds were still there.
Hannah lowered her head and looked back at Cale.

"Do you think it'll be okay?"

'Will we be okay even with those black clouds and the White Star being here?'

Hannah could see Cale's still stoic expression. Cale tightened his hold on the flailing Raon before responding back.

"What can we do about it if it isn't okay?"

Cale's gaze moved past the black clouds to Eruhaben.
Cale had faced many not okay situations in the past. He always had the same thoughts during those situations.
If the situation was not okay…

"We just need to make it okay. We must make it okay."

That's all they needed to do.
No matter what it was, there had to be a chance to turn the situation around.

Cale looked past Eruhaben's shoulder to see the White Star wiping away some blood from his mouth just as the ancient Dragon had done. His shoulders looked very tired.

"Is it because you are the oldest Dragon alive? You're quite strong."

However, his expression was quite lively, contrary to his tired demeanor. He looked at the white gold dust gathering around Eruhaben as he continued to speak.

"I've been curious about it for a while."
"Curious about what?"

Eruhaben stoically responded back.
He also motioned toward Cale with his eyes and Cale immediately sent the message down.

Tasha and the other Dark Elves immediately headed down and moved the rest of the people away from the Alchemists' Bell Tower.
He also ordered Rosalyn to move the airship outside the range of the black clouds.

The ancient Dragon was going to buy them time to run.
This upcoming fight was something that could seriously injure those around them.

"Are we going too?"

Cale shook his head at Hannah's question.

"Not yet."

Cale looked down below. He could see Choi Han and Mary, who was moving her black threads in order to gather Tower Master Bernard, no, the remaining black bones.
He could see Saint Jack and Sir Rex next to her as well. Cale motioned toward Sir Rex. Rex nodded his head in understanding.

They would run away as well. Either that or they would find a way to defend themselves.

Cale, Eruhaben, and even the White Star knew that that would be the case.
However, the White Star was still relaxed. It was as if he did not care about the people running away. He put his fire sword on his shoulder as he started to speak.

"What I have been curious about is…"

The White Star recalled something that had happened long ago.
It was something he had been curious about ever since the first time he was born.

"Dragons live for 1,000 years."

The bright brown eyes focused on the shining Eruhaben.

"Dragons who are strong from the moment they are born live for 1,000 years. They get to live longer than any other lifeform in this world."

The beings who were the strongest in the world and got to live the longest as well.

"Then how strong must they get during that time?"

How unfair was this power and lifespan distribution?

The White Star, a young man who was born in the Dragon Catcher household, could not understand that.

"Dragon Slayers. Us Dragon Catchers only have the lifespan of a regular human. That is why at max we could live up to around 100 years."

Dragon Catchers were born as humans and were not very strong at first. Their lifespans were also short compared to Beast people, Dragons, Elves, or Dwarves.

"But those people are able to overcome their short lifespans and weak beginnings to grow to a point where they can hunt Dragons. Isn't that amazing?"

A twisted smile appeared on the White Star's face.

"However, we still cannot dominate all Dragons after becoming that strong."

Dragon Catchers grew stronger at an astounding rate.
But the patriarch of the Dragon Slayer household, the only human in that generation who could fight against a Dragon, could not dominate all Dragons.

"Why is that the case?"

The answer was simple.
The White Star answered his own question.

"Because our lifespans are too short."

The short human lifespan put a limit on how strong they could get.
How unfair was this?

It was not just their bodies that got stronger.
Knowledge gained from living for a long time. Experience and familiarity with their abilities after using them for a long time.
Dragon Catchers could not catch up to a 1,000-year-old Dragon's experiences.

"That was why I was curious."

No, that was why he had made a decision.
The White Star smiled brightly at the ancient Dragon looking at him and continued to speak.

"If it was possible for a Dragon Catcher to live as long as a Dragon, would they get even stronger?"

His complaints about his own existence had started from that simple question. The White Star chose to reincarnate as that grumbling grew bigger and bigger in his mind.

A Dragon Slayer, someone called a treacher against nature, was supposed to become the overlord of the world based on their powers.
The White Star wanted to break away from his fate.
Of course, doing that was not easy. He had to sacrifice too many things to gain this opportunity.

"That is why I made a decision that allowed me to live as long as a Dragon and slowly killed them off one by one."

The smile on the White Star's face grew bigger.

"I killed the Dragons."

He killed both weak Dragons and strong Dragons.
He looked for and killed stronger Dragons as the number of times he reincarnated grew more numerous.
He was able to gain a new young body every time he was born, however, his memories and experiences remained with him.

So, who could defeat him?
No, even if someone managed to defeat him, he just reincarnated again and kill that enemy.

The fake Dragon Slayer Syrem and the Dragon half-blood were both created during those times. The White Star who was going through a thousand years' worth of memories could hear Eruhaben's voice.

"So, did you find the answer?"

The White Star shook his head.
That question was no longer important in comparison to the things he had prepared.

"I don't know. It was a question from my childhood, so I don't know if I will ever find an answer."

Eruhaben, the only Dragon on the continent to live for 1,000 years. That Dragon looked at the fire sword pointed at him and asked.

"And if you do find an answer?"

The White Star responded back as if just thinking about it was refreshing. He thought about the two things he had been preparing for 1,000 years and responded back.

"Then I will turn Cale into a Dragon Catcher. After that, I will finally be able to get the thing I've desired."

The White Star's fire sword grew hotter along with that response.
It was as if a lava-like fire was creating the large blade.

Swooooooosh-

Wind also gathered around the sword at the same time. The sword seemed to be a combination of lava and a typhoon. These violent natural attributes, these natural disasters, were gathering together.

"What is the thing you want?"

On the other hand, the area around Eruhaben, who asked that question, was already covered in light and silence. There were no noises of any kind.

"What I want?"

The smile disappeared from the White Star's face and he looked tired once again. He responded back in a voice that was full of desire.

"It is to no longer be a treacher and instead to be the ruler."

Ruler.

Cale subconsciously clenched his fists after hearing that word.

Boom! Boom!

His heart suddenly started to beat wildly.
Cale, who was standing on top of the White Bone Dragon, felt chills after feeling the power inside his body running wild.
Cale heard Eruhaben's voice in his head at that moment.

– The Dragon Slayer's power is a beautiful power.

The Dragon who had finished preparing to fight against the White Star wanted to let Cale know about something.

– The Dragon Slayers were called treachers. However, there was a different name that the Dragons called the Dragon Slayers.

Dragons both liked and hated Dragon Catchers.
That was why there was a name that only the Dragons used for the Dragon Slayers.

– A person who overcame themselves.

Eruhaben started to smile.

– It is a term we use for beautiful people.

Cale could hear Eruhaben's voice in his mind as well as out loud at the same time.

"How do you plan on becoming the ruler?"

The white gold dust was slowly spreading out.
These dust particles were silently spreading out even without the wind, as if they were pollen.

Eruhaben stood at the center of those dust particles as he pointed his spear forward. The fire sword pointed back at the spear as the White Star responded back.

How was he going to become the ruler?
The answer was simple.

"I plan to become the sky."

Cale's body curled up at that moment.

"…Huff!"

He took a deep breath.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His heart, no, his entire body was roaring.

"Human, are you hurt?"

Cale shook his head at Raon's concern.
He was not hurt.

"Human, is something difficult?"

Nothing was difficult either.

Cale shook his head. His insides were just roaring. It was as if his body was vigorously shaking on the inside.
He heard some voices in his mind for the first time in a while.

– He's over there.

Ancient powers.
The owners of those powers were speaking up for the first time in a while. The next to speak was a bit coarse with his choice of words.

– That bastard has the power of the sky!

It was a clear voice that was speaking so coarsely.
The Sky Eating Water. She was boiling up inside of Cale's body. The power of water that was flowing through Cale's veins was running wild.

It was running wild as if it could not hold back its anger. The owner of that power was almost screaming at this point.

– The power of the bastard who killed everyone has reappeared!

'Killed everyone?'

It was as Cale's faces stiffened.

– Me.

He heard the Scary Giant Cobblestone's voice.

– The glutton, the thief, and the cheapskate.

The shield, wind, and fiery thunderbolt.

– It was the power that made it so that we had no choice but to die.

'The power that killed the four of them?'

Cale raised his head up to look at the sky.
It was time for dawn to arrive.

Screeeech-

However, the only things he could see were the dark clouds.
These clouds covered the Alchemists' Bell Tower and the area around it. They were giving off odd cries.

'An ancient power with the sky attribute.'

Cale could not imagine that properly.

– The sky. It is a power that looks down on everything. It is a damn power that thinks that everything exists beneath the sky. The power that cannot return to the world has reappeared.

Cale was able to tell how strong it was based on the Super Rock's comments. He could also hear the shouts of the Sky Eating Water.

– This time, I, no, we, can catch him! It might be possible this time!

Both despair and a small sense of hope could be heard in her voice.

– I can eat up the sky like my name now!

The Sky Eating Water continued to shout.
However, that voice stopped as soon as the Super Rock started to speak again.

– Run away.

This was the first time.
He had never heard such a scary and stern voice from the Super Rock before.

– Not yet.

Not yet.
You can't do it right now.

– You are still weak. You need to grow stronger first.

Cale recalled what the White Star had said earlier.

'Tsk tsk. Cale, you don't even know how to use ancient powers properly.'

He thought about that statement as well as the fact that the Super Rock was saying that he was weak.

'Am I weak?
Haven't I surprised everyone with how strong I am every time?
But that strength is from not using the ancient powers correctly?'

Cale then heard something that helped him process the complicated mess in his head.

– Do not sacrifice yourself.

It was the Super Rock's stern voice.

– The people on your side are still not strong enough either.

Cale thought about his group.
Eruhaben, Raon, Choi Han, Mary. There were many others as well.

'But they are not enough?'

The Super Rock continued to speak in a lower voice.

– Don't turn away from them as I did and make them be sacrificed.

Do not let them be sacrificed.
That sentence made Cale subconsciously start to shout.

"Run!"

Choi Han, Mary, Jack, Hannah. Everybody around them looked toward him.
It was as the ancient Dragon and White Star were silently observing each other.

"Run away!"

Veins were popping out on Cale's neck as he shouted.

"…Cale?"

Eruhaben was the one who was most shocked by Cale's actions. This was different than the Cale he knew.

However, Eruhaben's gaze quickly turned away from Cale and back to the front.

"Is it because he has a lot of ancient powers?"

The White Star continued while laughing.

"His senses are good."

Ooooooong-

They heard a noise.
Eruhaben looked up toward the source of that noise. He could not believe it.

"…That-"

The sky was rumbling.
No, it was violently showing its presence.

Cale could see the White Star reaching his arm up toward the sky. The White Star was looking at the sky that was responding to him as he started to speak again.

"Bernard, my loyal subordinate."

These black clouds had come from the Lich's heart orb.

"I will destroy them with your power."

The black clouds headed toward the White Star.

"We will abandon the Empire's capital."

The black clouds rumbled once the White Star said that.

Cale started to frown. The cheapskate Fire of Destruction who had been quiet chimed in.

– We cannot defeat the sky yet, but there is something we can do.

There was something Cale and the ancient powers could do right now.

"…Purification."
– Purification is possible.

What would they purify?
It was blatantly visible in front of them.
The black clouds heading toward the White Star.

– You have many ways to purify things on your side.

Cale thought about the methods at his disposal. His eyes clouded over.

"Hannah."
"Huh?"

Cale called out to Hannah who was blankly staring at the rumbling clouds in the sky.

"Can you destroy those clouds with this white sword?"
"…Clouds?"

Hannah blanked for a moment before thinking about Cale's bloodshot eyes and his shouts from earlier as she quickly responded back.

"I don't know. But it is telling me we need to destroy it."
"Hand it over."
"…Huh?"

Hannah blankly asked, but Cale immediately reached his hand out toward the white sword.

"You need it?"
"Yes, I do."

Hannah hesitated for a moment before handing the white sword over to Cale after hearing that he needed it. She then tried to take her own sword out of its scabbard. She was planning on following behind him.

However, she would not be able to do that.

"Here."
"Huh?"

Hannah's eyes opened wide after seeing what Cale handed over.
Cale had put Raon in Hannah's arms. He could not allow Raon to clash against the White Star. It could be dangerous.

"What the…? Human?"
"What the…?"

Cale floated up using the Sound of the Wind instead of responding to the confused Raon and Hannah. He then sternly told the two of them to run.

"Run away."

He heard the Super Rock's sighing voice at that moment.

– I said don't sacrifice yourself.

Cale then felt a sturdy power surrounding his body.
The Super Rock was starting to protect him.

Crackle, crackle.

He had the white sword in his right hand and the Fire of Destruction in his left hand.

Eruhaben, who could see Cale, created a large white gold wind and charged toward the White Star.

– Cale, step back. I am enough for this, no, I will do it.

I will do it.

Cale knew the weight of those words.
The Super Rock had said that even Dragons were not enough to take on the sky attribute.

'How can I leave him alone when I know that is the case?'

"You still need to live a lot longer, Eruhaben-nim."

Cale gave a short response to the ancient Dragon before shooting up toward the black clouds.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]