Chapter 683: A hunt in the middle of the night (6)

"Your highness!"

"Saint-nim."

Alberu put on a reliable smile for Jack, who was looking at him with astonishment.

Jack had heard about this from the Sun God.

She said that Alberu Crossman would shine a light in the darkness.

Jack stuttered as he spoke.

"T, that was definitely D, Divine Power-"

"Saint-nim. I must go fight now."

The light rising up into the night sky was not small.

It was small compared to the sun or the moon, but it was large enough to light up all of Puzzle City.

The nearby territories could probably see this light as well.

This white light that was the only source of light in the dark sky looked quite holy.

It had no offensive power or healing power, but it was still the pure power of the sun.

It felt as if the Sun God had gathered her godly aura in it, without it being tainted by human hands first.

And underneath that large light…

The calmly smiling crown prince was saying that he needed to go fight now.

He needed to fight the Lion Dragon, the terrifying monster that would be recorded in history forever.

Saint Jack held back his shock and the question on his mind.

'Actually, it is not even a question.'

The Sun God.

This great existence, whether she was here for good or bad, meant a lot to Jack.

That god was currently looking down on this battlefield.

The fact that she delivered her will to Jack in a message meant that she was watching.

And she had chosen Alberu Crossman.

Why?

'It is because he has the answer. He has a path forward.'

That meant that there was only one thing for Jack to do.

"I shall not be in your way."

He was useless on this battlefield. Then his role should be to step aside right now.

However, there was a lot for him to do in the back of the battlefield.

"…I hope nobody gets hurt, but please don't worry even if they do. I am here. I will heal everyone."

Alberu smiled at Jack.

The Saint's healing power was poison to him. Alberu hid his mother's keepsake, the necklace that was slightly visible in his pajamas.

Jack quietly looked at the faint smile on Alberu's face before walking over to Hannah.

"Hannah. We should get down."

"I don't want to."

"Huh?"

Hannah, who had calmed down, pulled her sword out of the scabbard.

"There's no magic right now."

Her gaze turned toward Alberu.

"That is why I need to fight. Isn't that right? What do you think, your highness?"

"I would be grateful for your assistance."

Hannah pointed with her chin, as if to tell Jack that she was right.

Jack lowered his head, as if he had no choice, before gently putting his hand on the Dragon's back.

"Could you please let me down?"

"Sure."

The Gold Dragon slowly lowered itself.

Alberu kept his eyes on the Lion Dragon as it happened. The monster was just silently observing the light in the night sky. Its red pupils were growing and shrinking in size over and over, as if it was thinking about something.

The people underneath scattered as Eruhaben's body got closer to the ground to move away from the range of the Dragon's shadow.

Jack looked at Alberu once Eruhaben was close enough to the ground that even he could safely jump off.

"I believe I will receive a lot of questions."

People would definitely ask Jack a lot of things once he got down.

"Please just tell them exactly what you saw."

Jack could feel it in the crown prince's response.

'This person is not planning on dodging the issue.'

Jack would have no choice but to bring up the Sun God if he told people exactly what he saw.

"Your highness, will it not be burdensome for you? You don't even have young master Cale by your side."

'All of the attention and hope will be placed on you.

It would be a different kind of attention and hope than the ones placed on Choi Han and the other Dragons.'

People saw Choi Han, Hannah, Mary, and the Dragons as heroes.

As for Alberu Crossman, he was a leader.

The kind of attention and hope placed on a leader was very different from those placed on heroes.

People hoped for victory from heroes but they hoped for leaders to protect them.

'Young master Cale is both a hero and a leader.'

In Jack's eyes, Alberu Crossman was someone who personally wanted to be a leader and not a hero.

That was why Alberu responded as Jack had expected, to his question about it being burdensome.

"This is my job."

"I see."

Jack did not ask any more questions to hold back someone who was heading out to battle.

"Haaaaa, I'll help you. I will come right back."

Hannah put Jack over her shoulders and jumped off Eruhaben's back.

Alberu watched them for a moment before turning away without any hesitation. The Lion Dragon was looking at Eruhaben and him.

"Let's go."

"Yes, Eruhaben-nim."

The crown prince headed back up to their battlefield with the Gold Dragon, Eruhaben.

The people watching them quickly rushed over to Saint Jack once Hannah landed on the ground.

"Saint-nim! What is going on right now?!"

The first to approach them was crown prince Valentino of the Caro Kingdom.

His eyes looked quite chaotic as he looked at Puzzle City that was suffering from mana disturbance, and the light in the sky.

The light that Alberu shot into the sky was floating there without disappearing.

It was like a lamp.

"Saint-nim, did young master Cale wake up?"

"I, I must hear what is going on as well!"

The ones to ask those questions were Queen Litana of the Jungle and Commander Toonka of the Whipper Kingdom.

Saint Jack closed his eyes for a moment.

"I'm leaving."

Hannah gave a short goodbye and headed toward necromancer Mary.

Jack, who was left alone with the crowd of people, opened his eyes and started speaking. His firm voice flowed out.

"The White Star had been disguised as Duke Deruth."

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

Silence filled the area at this unexpected proclamation. Great chaos had a tendency to take away words.

"T, then-"

As someone struggled to say something… Rosalyn pushed past the crowd and approached Saint Jack.

The Knight Captain of the Roan Kingdom's Royal Guards was behind her.

"Then the White Star must have tricked people to fight against the monster. Is young master Cale currently fighting against the White Star? Was he the one who activated the mana disturbance tool as well?"

There were a lot of details to explain, but Jack just nodded his head as he didn't have much time.

The people around Jack were all representatives of their respective areas and were all silently thinking things through.

Of course, Toonka was stomping his feet and swearing at the White Star.

"That rotten bastard who stinks more than old ass shit! How dare he disguise himself as our fwather and trick me?! I'm going to crush him and twist him until I drain every drop of blood from that bastard!"

"U, umm! Saint-nim!"

It was at that moment.

"Saint-nim!"

It was the Knight Captain.

The man who pushed past Rosalyn and urgently moved up opened his mouth again with heavy emotions.

"T, that thing in the sky- May I ask what that is?"

Saint Jack explained exactly what he had seen, just as Alberu had told him to do, after seeing the anticipation in the Knight Captain's eyes.

"It is light with the power of the Sun God."

Everybody turned toward Jack again.

"My lord has informed his highness, crown prince Alberu Crossman, to light up the darkness."

"Ah."

Someone gasped.

Nobody knew if it was one of the representatives or their vassals who had gasped, but they all clenched their hands into fists as soon as they heard the Knight Captain's shaking voice.

"…Puzzle City will not crumble."

The Knight Captain's eyes look past the wall to observe Alberu, who was headed toward the monster.

"His highness… Commander Cale…there are many heroes here. I have a feeling that everything will work out."

Rosalyn, who was looking at the Knight Captain, spoke as well.

"I guess we need to split into three."

This was a night where they could not use magic. Rosalyn's insides were swirling as if she was going to hurl, but she held it back and addressed the representatives.

Rosalyn knew that she was the one who knew the most about the situation with both the crown prince and Cale not here.

"First, we need a squad that will support our allies as they fight against the Lion Dragon. Second, we need a squad to support our allies who caused the mana disturbance."

Rosalyn had located the starting point of the mana disturbance.

It was the basement of City Hall.

She had a pretty good idea as to why the mana disturbance had happened and planned on heading over there.

"Finally, we need a squad to support young master Cale fight against the White Star."

"I will go."

Toonka stepped forward.

"I will remain here."

Litana chose the battlefield.

They each chose where they would fight.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

They heard the sound of the wind once again at that moment. Rosalyn quickly tied her fluttering hair up as she looked up at the city walls.

She saw a beige colored Dragon. Mila was offering her back to Choi Han. Choi Han stepped onto her back as he looked down.

The area that had once been chaotic was calming down, with everybody finding their respective tasks. Choi Han made eye contact with Rosalyn who was standing at the center of the group of people.

Nod.

She nodded her head at him, as if to tell him not to worry.

Choi Han nodded his head back before he chased behind Eruhaben with Mila.

"Your highness."

"Oh, you're here, instructor?"

Alberu had a refreshing smile on his face, as if he was not cold despite just being in pajamas.

"Why don't you put on your armor?"

"I forgot to bring it."

"That's…not something to be proud of."

"It's not like I had a choice."

Alberu laughed as if he was enjoying this situation.

"I can't take my sweet time when that bastard is waiting for us patiently."

The monster, the Lion Dragon. The monster that had been quietly observing the light in the night sky now only focused on Alberu.

It was just silently standing there without launching the first attack.

However, Choi Han could see the monster's eyes that were glowing even brighter red now.

Click.

The weapon in Alberu's hand changed form once again.

This was the beginning.

The two Dragons slowly approaching the monster… The humans on top of them… The monster waiting to face them…

Choi Han thought to himself that everything will end before dawn.

That was why he asked a question before they started the battle.

"Your highness. Did Cale-nim stay back on his own?"

"…He did."

"I don't know how I feel about that."

"I agree. Depending on the situation, you head toward Cale. I feel like he is hiding something after visiting the World Tree."

Alberu heard Taerang's voice in his mind.

– The environment around you is currently unstable; however, it should not be an issue to change the user's mana.

It can be changed based on the will of the user.

The gun was a bit smaller from the gun used to shoot the light into the air.

– Decrease size of weapon but increase impact of bullet.

Click.

Alberu observed the Lion Dragon's red eyes.

Tang-

He then fired.

He heard a loud noise behind him at the same time.

Baaaaaaaaaang-!

It was so loud that it could drown out every other noise.

"Pffft." Alberu didn't even need to turn around to see where the noise was coming from.

"I guess they're having quite the fierce battle."

The room where Alberu had been lying on the bed… The wall by the window was completely destroyed as flames shot out.

Crackle. Crack.

It was a flame with rose gold thunderbolts inside it.

"Ha, haha!"

The White Star laughed in disbelief while looking at the flame.

"You're charging at me like there is no tomorrow."

The White Star had to raise his arm as soon as he said that.

Bang!

His fire sword slammed against a spear.

It was a spear with swirling water. Cale swung that spear in his hand toward the White Star again.

There was no stopping.

Bang, baaaaang!

Whirlwinds gathered at the tips of his feet at the same time.

Cale kicked his foot toward the White Star's leg as soon as their weapons clashed.

Baaaaang!

The whirlwind and wind wall crashed into each other and lost their forms.

The White Star frowned.

"A war of attrition like this is not good for you."

Cale didn't even pretend to listen and moved his left hand.

The seeds that Alberu had planted on the door… The seeds grew again and vines shot out toward the White Star once more.

Cale then stabbed the spear toward the White Star as well.

Wood, wind, fire, and water…

Cale was changing attributes and attacking the White Star without any care in the world.

Cale knew that using them at the same time would be burdensome on his body, so he would switch between them very quickly without even thinking about the small injuries he was getting.

Baaaaaang-

As for the White Star, he was blocking every attack.

"…These weak attacks cannot hurt or kill me. You should know that as well, Cale Henituse."

The White Star touched a part of his red cheek that was not covered by the mask and mumbled.

Cale stopped attacking for a moment to speak.

"I have nothing else to say to you."

The White Star nodded his head as well.

"That's right. We have no need to chat anymore. One of us will need to meet our demise."

"Yes. That is all there is to it."

The White Star slowly raised his head.

He looked at the ceiling of the room.

"Fighting like this is extremely small scale for you and me. We are people who control nature. This room is very small."

The White Star believed that Cale Henituse planned to keep him tied down here.

"I suppose my going out would cause chaos in the battle against the Lion Dragon."

However…

"But you should know already. Keeping me in here does not mean that I cannot attack outside."

The night sky… They heard some noises in the darkness that was only lit up by the light shining down on Puzzle City.

Ruuuumble- ruuuuuumble–

It was the sound of thunderbolts.

This was the White Star's sky attribute ancient power.

The thunderbolts were much louder than the noises they had heard in the past when he had used this power. The night sky rumbled as if there would be a tsunami.

This was the true power of the White Star now that he had achieved balance and did not need to hold himself back.

"I can easily destroy this playing field if I want-"

The White Star suddenly stopped talking.

Normally… Cale Henituse would normally charge forward to stop the White Star from using his sky power or cast his shield to protect people.

"You-"

But it was different this time.

Cale Henituse had said that there was nothing else to say to the White Star.

He took out a badge and was putting it on his clothes. He wasn't even looking at the White Star and seemed to be mumbling to himself.

"Man, it hasn't even been that long."

Cale truly seemed very angry.

The real Cale Henituse. It had not been very long since Cale met the guy who was now Kim Rok Soo and accepted this world and the people in it.

But the White Star abducted Duke Deruth and put people in danger.

"I'm so relieved that we were able to remain here alone."

After mumbling until there to himself, Cale turned toward the White Star.

The White Star subconsciously took a step back.

"You, you-"

Cale Henituse seemed different from usual.

"What are you-"

Cale Henituse looked the same as he had just looked.

But something was definitely different.

It felt as if his entire body was covered in blood.

The stench of blood wasn't there but it felt as if the stench of blood was spreading out from Cale Henituse.

It was as if Cale Henituse was being embraced by blood.

The White Star felt just one thing from Cale right now.

Essence.

Something that was extremely instinctual.

This essence was full of fear.

It was not regular fear.

It was something deeper. It was something that made you think of blood.

This was the fear of death.

The fear of death, something that any living being would possess, was emanating from Cale Henituse.

The White Star subconsciously shouted.

"…The Blood-drenched Rock!"

This could only be one thing.

It was the 'Blood-drenched Rock,' the earth attribute ancient power that the White Star had originally been searching for.

Smirk.

The corners of Cale's lips curled up.

The Super Rock had said something when he used 'Embrace' on this power that the White Star had been looking for and was about to gain it for himself.

'Everything is said to die and return to the earth to turn into dirt. That is why the earth is a place with a large amount of death.'

'The Blood-drenched Rock. That is what I called the other earth attribute ancient power.'

The White Star used the same, 'blood-drenched' word about this power.

'It's because it is blood.'

'It is because it is the Blood-drenched Rock.' It is the earth where the dead are buried. It is the weapon that kills humans and other living things. It is normal to be scared.'

The smile on Cale's face slowly disappeared.

'Do you know why people feared the ancient White Star?'

'That earth attribute power used as a weapon makes people feel instinctual fear about death.'

The ancient White Star used this instinctual fear to instill fear in people and rule over them.

Oooooo– oooooo–

Another change happened in Cale's body at that moment.

The earth attribute ancient power came flowing out of the badge and through Cale's body to be cast.

Another power that Cale had possessed for a while was mixed together on top of that power.

The Super Rock had said something else while talking about the Blood-drenched Rock.

'Cale. Do you know why I took the weak Nelan Barrow with me? Do you know why I tried so hard to keep him alive?'

Nelan Barrow. The first Dragon Slayer and the Korean person named Choi Jung Gun.

'Part of it was that I was protecting him since he was weak. However… That punk had a useless bluffing power. It was a power that was perfect for scamming. But you see…'

'That power is called a bluff is also called courage at times.'

The name of that power was the Dominating Aura.

'That punk… He was always bluffing but he had the courage to stand up against fear. And that courage turned into an aura. We were able to fight against this fear when we were with that punk's aura.'

The aura that was being mixed into this power that held the instinctual fear of death…

The power that wouldn't even bow in front of Dragon Fear…

It had the demeanor and features of a ruler.

The ancient times.

The two powers that were able to stand up against each other knew how each other worked so well that their mixture continued to grow in size.

Although the two of them were just a simple aura and an invisible fear…

This combination held a power that seemed impossible to fathom its limits.

Ruuuuumble- ruuuuuuumble-

They heard the roars of the sky from outside the room.

But that sound didn't seem like much in this area.

Just one person…

Only Cale's voice, as he spoke with no emotions visible on his face, dominated this area.

"Let's get started."

Boom.

The moment Cale stomped his foot…

The room that they were in…

The place they were standing started to get surrounded by red dirt.

A domain completely dominated by Cale was being created.

***

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]