Chapter 372 – Night Has Arrived (5)

It was dark.
Everything was black by the white castle that was covered by the large boulder dome.
It was as if night had arrived.

"Will it be okay even though we can't see anything?"

The Mercenary King had a concerned expression on his face as he asked Cale.

Bud was relieved at first as he saw the large dome being created.
He became even more relieved after seeing the large tree roots, water, whirlwinds, and wall of fire as well.

However, he realized that they could not see anything outside the dome once the dome was completed.

"We have no idea what the White Star and the enemies are going to do. Will it be okay?"

Bud could see Cale nodding his head.

"Yes. We don't need to see to know."

It was loud for Cale right now.

'The thunderbolt is about to strike!'
'Aaahhhh! So scary!'
'The masked man is looking at our barrier in disbelief!'

The Wind Elementals were constantly talking to Cale through the top's whip in his hand.
They were explaining the situation outside so that Cale did not need to see anything.

"Cale!"

Eruhaben walked up next to him.

"I will handle the outermost layer."

Cale heard a Wind Elemental's voice at the same time.

'A white gold shield was created outside the wall of fire!'

He could hear Raon's voice as well.

"I'll do it too!"

The Elementals shared the new development as well.

'There's a black shield inside the white gold shield as well! From the inside, there's the wall of fire, then the black shield! Beyond that is the white gold shield!'
'I've never seen such a strong barrier in my life!'
'Wow, two Dragon-nims putting up shields!'

Cale turned his head.

"The outermost layer is mine."
'Wow! A white shield was created toward the sky!'

He could hear Sheritt and the Elementals' voices.

Cale could see that Lord Sheritt had a complicated expression on her face. Her lips were moving as if she had more to say to Cale, however, he did not give her the opportunity to say anything.

'The thunderbolts, the thunderbolts will soon fall!'

He opened his mouth to speak as soon as he heard the Elementals make that comment.

"The thunderbolts will fall soon."

Everybody looked at him after he said that.

"We will persist. We will persist as long as possible."

He could hear the scared voice of one of the Elementals.

'Sob sob, thunderbolts are so scary.'
'Scary?! Are you an idiot? Are you just going to get hit by it like an idiot and die? Either way, that thing can't get rid of us. It probably could hurt us though.'

Cale started to smile.

"But I can't faint or cough up blood, so we will retreat at the right time as the barrier breaks down. Does that sound good?"

The three Dragons looked toward Cale with expressions that seemed to be saying that they had a lot to say.
This was especially true for Eruhaben, who felt as if his insides were twisting as he watched Cale smile.

'T, this unlucky bastard!'

He couldn't help but feel so bitter that the punk who was using five ancient powers at once was worrying about others.

"You."

However, he could not speak properly.

'The White Star moved the thunderbolts!'

It was because Cale urgently shouted after hearing the Elemental's comment.

"It's coming!"

Oooooooooooong- Ooooooong-

Cale could feel the large dome starting to rumble.

Cale and the three Dragons.
The others surrounded the four of them.

It all happened in just a few seconds. Many thoughts passed by the group members' minds during those few seconds. However, none of them curled up in fear.

Flap. Flap.

It was because they could hear Cale's shirt fluttering in the wind.

This dark area.
In this area that did not seem like the real world where only the lights from the three Dragons' manas could be seen.

"It's coming!"

The silence ended with that statement.

Baaaaaaaaaang!
Baaaaang! Baaaaaang!

Loud explosions shook the dome.

"Ugh!"

Beacrox lost his balance.
The ground was shaking.

He could feel the strength of the numerous thunderbolts striking down to the ground.
He turned his head. His father Ron was holding On and Hong in his arms. Bud was looking at the top of the dome that was shaking as much as his pupils.

Baaaaaang! Baaaaang!

He could also see Choi Han.
Choi Han was only looking at Cale and the three Dragons.

He could also see Raon, Eruhaben, and Cale.
They were only looking at the top of the dome.
The White Star's white thunderbolts were striking down from the sky in order to destroy them.

'…They experienced this before?'

Beacrox had only seen the footage of the battle against the White Star because he had been in the Eastern continent.
It was also the first time Ron, On, and Hong experienced the White Star's attack.

Beacrox put some strength into his feet.

Stab!

His greatsword stabbed into the ground that was covered in white pebbles.
He grabbed onto the handle of the greatsword and stood up straight.

Baaaaaang! Baaaaang!

He too now only looked at the others as Choi Han was doing.
He heard Cale's voice at that moment.

Baaaaaang! Baaaaang!
Baaaaang! Baaaaang!

Cale was shouting as loudly as possible through the loud explosions.

"Sheritt-nim!"

At the same time, he heard a quiet groan that he would have missed if he was not focused.

"Ugh."

Sheritt was the one who groaned.
Beacrox could see the half-transparent woman's body start to shake.
The illusion that was supposedly made with magic split into two for a moment before coming back together as one.

'The shield is about to break!'
'It'll break soon! But she keeps putting the shield back together!'

Cale could hear the Elementals explain the situation outside.
Sheritt was constantly putting more power into the breaking shield to handle the white thunderbolts.

Cale started to speak again because of the individual who was ready to put her life on the line continued to put more power into the shield even as he called out to her.

"Raon! Stop your mom!"

It was at that moment.
Sheritt's half-transparent body that was shaking suddenly flinched.
There was a hand that grabbed her shoulder at the same time.

"Sheritt-nim."

It was Choi Han.
Sheritt could see the eyes of the black-haired man who was neither old nor young.

"Cale-nim's judgment is correct."

She could see Choi Han peeking toward Raon after saying that. She did not dare to turn her head toward Raon as well, but she could feel that her child was looking at her.
The power gathered in her hands disappeared.

Her shaking body returned to normal.

Baaaaaaaaaang! Baaaaaang!

They heard a loud explosion as soon as she did that.

'The first layer has been breached! The shield is broken!'
'The thunderbolts are still coming!'

Cale heard the Elementals' voices as he looked elsewhere. He could see Eruhaben smiling.
Cale started to smile as well.

Baaaaaang! Baaaaang!

The white thunderbolts crashed into the white gold shield next.
The thunderbolts were slamming onto the white gold shield as if they wanted to turn it into dust.

Baaaaang! Baaaaang!

And then…

Craaaaaaack-

The white gold shield started to crack as well.

'The area around the Castle of Light is going to be burned to the ground!'
'Everything else is turning into a mess!'
'The thunderbolts are burning everything! It might even burn us Elementals!'
'The white gold shield is about to break too!'

Cale started to speak.

"Passing the second layer."
"Ho."

Eruhaben let out a scoff.

Craaaack-

The group didn't know but he knew that his shield was breaking. He was debating whether to use more strength and overdo it a bit.
However, seeing Cale realize it like a ghost and stopping him made him let his shield go.

Craaaaaaaack- bang!

The second barrier was destroyed.

"Raon."
"I know, human!"

Raon's two front paws were pointed toward the ceiling and not moving. Lord Sheritt blankly watched.

Raon was six years old now.
His small front paws were stiffly headed toward the sky as if he was trying to support this large dome.

Baaaaaang!

The dome shook and the ground rumbled.

Cale started to speak at that moment.

"What is the White Star doing?"
"Huh?"

Bud asked back in a stupid voice, but Cale didn't care at all.

'The White Star moved his hand toward the sky once again!'
'He's saying, 'strike down,' some more!'
'The thunderbolts, the black sky is crying again!'

'He gave the order to strike down some more?'

'It looks like he's trying to increase the duration of the attack!'
'I think more thunderbolts will strike down!'

That meant that the thunderbolts would strike longer than they did at the Empire's capital.

'The White Star said that he would destroy it this time!'
'A Lion is telling him not to overdo it, but the White Star responded that this is time to overdo things!'

Multiple Elementals were talking at once.

'There's a crack on the black shield now!'

Cale shouted to Raon.

"Raon!"
"I know!"

Cale heard the voices of the Wind Elementals along with Raon's response.

'The White Star stumbled!'
'He coughed up blood! A Cat is supporting him!'

Cale's eyes clouded over.

'He coughed up blood?'

It meant that the White Star's plate was shaking.
It was the moment that proved that he had overdone it.

'The second round of thunderbolts are coming down!'

Cale looked toward Raon as the Elemental said that.

"Raon, that's eno-"

However, Cale could not finish the sentence.
He heard the voice of the Elementals.

'Huh? The shield that was breaking was restored!'
'Another black shield is being created!'
'There is one on top of the other! It's a two-layer, n, no! Three-layer shield!'
'A three-layer shield! Wow! So amazing!'

He started to frown after seeing Raon before he could even respond to the Elementals.
Raon did not put down his two front paws.

Instead, he flapped his wings and headed toward the ceiling of the dome.
He was flying up to the top.

"Raon!"

Raon continued to fly higher as if he wasn't going to respond to Cale's calling. Raon's dark blue eyes were sparkling.

'I know! I know about it too!'

Raon knew as well. He knew that the White Star was strong and that he should not overdo it.

Oooooooong-

Black mana surrounded Raon.

He knew all of it.
Even though that was the case, he felt it was so unfair.
It made him angry.
It made him sad.

Raon recalled how Sheritt's body had been shaking. He realized something after seeing that.

He knew it was a lie that Sheritt would kill the White Star or defeat him with overwhelming strength.
He knew that her confident demeanor was all just an act.

Raon was not so young that he wouldn't realize that.
Raon bit down on his lips.

Tap.

Raon's two front paws touched the top of the large boulder dome.
It was at that moment.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang-

A larger and stronger attack that was at a different level than earlier poured down.

"Ugh!"

Raon bit down on his lips again.
Sheritt had said the following.
She said that some powers became stronger the more things you had to protect.
She wanted him to remember that there were such powers.

Honestly speaking, Sheritt did not need to tell Raon about that.
Raon had seen plenty of powers like that already. In fact, he had learned for a long time that those powers were stronger than others.

He had been imprisoned in the cave for four years.
However, these past two years felt so much longer than those four years.
The experiences he had gone through these past two years had taught Raon which powers were the really strong powers.

Those were the powers he had learned.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang! Baaaaaang!

Raon's two front paws that were touching the dome started to shake.

Raon could feel that his three-layer shield was breaking.
Nonetheless, he persisted.
He needed to persist.

"…Because…I am great and mighty…I… can do it-"

However, Raon had no choice but to remove his paws from the ceiling.

"What are you doing?!"

Raon turned around after feeling someone pulling him.
Cale focused more on Raon's face and back that were covered in dry sweat rather than Raon's eyes. He could also see Raon's front paws that were slightly shaking.

"Do you want to be scolded? Huh?"

Raon's pupils started to shake.
This was the first time.

This was the first time Cale ever raised his voice like this toward Raon.
However, Raon soon got away from Cale's hands.

"Little kid, you need to know your limits."

Eruhaben's voice came from nearby.
Raon could feel someone behind him. He raised his head to see that Sheritt was stiffly standing there while hugging him.

All of them had followed behind him as soon as he started to fly toward the ceiling.

'It's cold.'

The body of the half-transparent illusion was cold.
However, Raon soon started to frown.

"Aigoo, little kid. You should have done as that unlucky bastard told you to do. Why did you do that?"

Raon hesitated for a bit after hearing Eruhaben's question before putting his head into Sheritt's chest and responding.

"…Need to protect our house..."

Eruhaben and Sheritt both raised their hands toward the ceiling after hearing that.
They heard Cale's voice at that moment.

"If you are going to create shields, please put them inside the dome. Either that, or please get some rest."

Eruhaben could not help but shout.

"What about you! Are you trying to faint again?! You are also a little kid to me, you punk!"
"Heh."

The ancient Dragon could see Cale smiling at him.

"I won't faint this time."
"What?"

Ooooooong.

Eruhaben could see Cale take something out of his pocket.
His expression turned odd after seeing the item.
It was the white crown that had been in Cale's hand before he put it back in his pocket.

Cale's left hand had the top's whip while his right hand had the white crown.
The crown was letting out a white light.

Cale looked at the crown with an odd gaze.

'I wasn't expecting something like this.'

It happened the moment he used all five natural attribute ancient powers after making up his mind to protect this castle, Sheritt, and the others.

The crown had started to shine.
He had then heard the voice of the crown.

– …U… use this power. Protect…my close friend's…house...

Then an immense amount of strength flowed from the crown into Cale.

Cale remembered what Guardian Knight Clopeh Sekka and the fake Dragon Slayer Syrem had told him.

This was what Clopeh had said.

'The Dragon Slayer needs the Sword of Disasters and something else in order to be complete.
That something else was the crown, an ancient artifact that had been passed down generation after generation.

The Dragon Slayer needed the crown that drinks Dragon blood in order to have a Dragon-like body.'

Then the fake Dragon Slayer Syrem had said the following.

'This will be useful for you! The crown will be beneficial for you if you have the Dominating Aura. You know about the crown, right? I will bring that to you! I will also tell you all the secrets about Arm as well! I swear!'

Cale had planned on taking the power from the crown and then destroying it once the powers in his body were in balance.
However, he was crazy busy since gathering all five attributes such that he had no time to do anything with the crown.

However, the crown's power was flowing into Cale right now.
It was an intense tsunami-like power.

"…How could there be such power-!"

Eruhaben could not hide his shock.

Baaaaaaaaaang! Baaaaaang!

The black shield was broken and the white thunderbolts crashed into the wall of fire.

Cale started to smile.
He could feel the immense power flowing from the crown into his fingertips.

'But, by the way.'

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Cale could feel his heart beating wildly.

He could feel his heart beating to gobble up that power.
It had not been very visible after combining with the Indestructible Shield.

The Vitality of the Heart.

It was something that was neither a Dragon Slayer power nor an ancient power of the five attributes. It was a power that had belonged to a human who had very good regeneration abilities.
That ancient power was trying to gobble up the large amount of power that was flowing into him from the white crown.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Cale's heart was beating wilder than ever before.
He could feel that he was alive.

His heart.
His beating heart gave Cale certainty.

'I can keep this up.
I will not be the one to faint.'

Cale reached out both of his palms.
They touched the dome's ceiling.

Crack.

As a crack appeared on the jewel embedded in the white crown…

Ooooooo-

A large amount of natural power came pouring out of Cale's body.
That power then started to support the dome.

'The White Star said the following. He told the thunderbolts to roar!'
'He told his subordinates this was it!'
'All of the thunderbolts will strike down at once!'

This large dome was covered in fire, wind, water, wood, and earth.
Numerous white thunderbolts struck down onto the dome.

Baaaaaaaaaang! Baaaaaaaaaang!

The world turned white for a moment from the white thunderbolts that gobbled up the dome.

***

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]