Chapter 694: How did it get here (1)

The black smoke that was rising up… This would normally not have been visible at night, but it was clearly visible under the brightly shining orb.
The blood that flowed out of the monster's body rose up as black smoke instead of wetting the ground.

"…Huuuuuu."

Deep breath after deep breath. Beads of sweat dripped down Alberu Crossman's forehead.

– The nearby atmospheric conditions have reached stable conditions.

The mana disturbance tool had stopped.
Alberu realized that Cale had rescued Duke Deruth and captured all of the captives. He also knew that the little punk who was finished with his task would be watching this battlefield as he finished off the monster.

'I don't need Cale Henituse's help this time.'

He wanted Cale to just sit back and watch.

– Danger of mana depletion. User Alberu Crossman's remaining mana is less than 20%.

Taerang's voice endlessly filled his mind.

"…20%."

Alberu tightly clenched the hand holding the Unbreakable Spear as he thought about his remaining mana.
The Lion Dragon that had black smoke coming out from his body… Earth 3's Ahn Roh Man had spoken briefly about this.

'It means that the monster's end is near.'

'Alberu Crossman. How do you think the Lion Dragon's final fifth stage would be? What do you think it would feel like to have the monster's final moments approaching?'

Alberu could finally answer Ahn Roh Man's question.

"…It's a mess."

He looked down at himself.
He looked so terrible, especially because he rushed out in his pajamas.
Alberu always showed the prime example of a crown prince so the citizens of the Roan Kingdom would definitely be shocked to see him like this.

"Do we just need to do it once more then?"

Alberu heard a tired voice.

He looked around.
The owner of the back that he was standing on… Eruhaben's body was full of small injuries. It was probably because he went up against the Lion Dragon the most.

That wasn't all.
Dragon Mila had even more small injuries than Eruhaben.

'But I was able to fight without worrying about the shield thanks to her.'

Rasheel was no longer here, as he was chasing after Sayeru. Mila chose to take on the monster and its unbreakable shield so that Alberu and Eruhaben could aim for openings all around the monster's body.
Eruhaben charged toward the monster as soon as he saw an opening, and Alberu shot bullets into those openings to leave injuries all around the monster's body.

This was only possible because Raon, Rosalyn, and Mary took down the monster and held it in place.
It would have taken a lot more time and effort if they had not done so.

"Your highness."

Choi Han had supported all of them through it all.
Support may sound as if he was fighting in the rear, but Choi Han's support was done by fighting with them.
He would thoroughly check Mila and Eruhaben's conditions and jump in without any hesitation whenever an extra attack was needed.

"My instructor-nim looks terrible too."

"I think I at least look better than you do, your highness."

"Bullshit."

Choi Han looked as bad as, if not worse than Alberu.
Alberu's gaze moved to Choi Han's sword. The aura rising from the sword was weaker than before.

Choi Han, the Dragons, and Alberu all fought with everything they had.
The fruits of their labor were that the monster was reaching its fifth and final stage and that the end of this battle was not far away.
Ahn Roh Man had also said the following.

'The end of the battle is not beautiful. The end will be disgusting.'

He said that the fifth stage would be a disgusting fight.
It would not be beautiful at all and would not look glorious.
Alberu had snorted after hearing that.

"That's obvious."

It was because all fights were like that.
A beautiful battle?
Something like that does not exist.

The only thing that matter was that you survived at the end of the battle.

"Eruhaben-nim. Let's go."

"Sure."

Choi Han jumped from Mila's back to Eruhaben's back and stood next to Alberu as soon as Alberu started talking.
Eruhaben, Choi Han, and Alberu headed toward the monster that was bleeding all over its body.

'The monster will not stop moving until you stab its heart.'

The Lion Dragon was kneeling on one knee.
The bastard who had fallen down managed to get back up but could only kneel on one knee.

"…Huff. Huff."

The monster was breathing heavily, and its damaged scales were bleeding and had black smoke coming out.
The Gold Dragon's large body stopped right in front of it.

"…Won't it be dangerous?"

Alberu calmly responded to Eruhaben's question.

"It is still something I need to do. My instructor will be with me as well. Isn't that right?"

"Of course."

"You're starting to get more disrespectful every day. Either way, I worry that you are tired, Eruhaben-nim."

"I had the same thoughts."

The ancient Dragon scoffed quietly before peeking toward Mila.

"…Well, it feels like I will live a long time."

The ancient Dragon slowly descended.
The monster and the gold Dragon looked at each other. Eruhaben left one statement for the two who would put the finishing touches.

"Go."

Alberu and Choi Han kicked off Eruhaben's back and dropped down.
A loud roar came out of Eruhaben's mouth at the same time.

Now that the mana disturbance tool was stopped…
With the mana stable once again…

Gold dust started to scatter through the black smoke. Eruhaben, who was surrounded by large golden dust particles that looked like the Milky Way in the night sky, slammed into the Lion Dragon.

Baaaaang—!

Another loud explosion echoed through the sky as it had been all night, and the Gold Dragon's front paw grabbed the monster's shield.

The monster was trying to smash the Dragon with the shield.
The Dragon was trying to take the shield away.
Another Dragon charged toward the monster's arms and legs during that battle of strength.
Dragons surrounded in gold and beige mana pressured the monster.

As the Dragons held onto the monster's body like that…
Alberu and Choi Han pushed forward their spear and sword.
Alberu recalled Ahn Roh Man's comments.

'Alberu Crossman. The monster has used up all of its abilities by stage five and will use the only thing it has left, its physical strength. That is why a chance to finish off the monster will appear.'

'You use Taerang to make the monster's heart stop.'

Crack!

The spear pierced through the monster's back scales and into its skin.
Alberu grabbed the spear to stop himself from falling down.
Similarly, Choi Han's sword stabbed into an injury on the monster's back before he too landed on it.

"Grrrrrr-!"

The Lion Dragon showed an intense reaction after feeling the pain.
This shouldn't have been that painful compared to the other injuries it received until now; however, its reaction was much more exaggerated.
It could not be helped.

"Choi Han."

"Yes, your highness?"

Choi Han pulled his sword out of the monster's back and channeled his aura again.

'Mm.'

Choi Han's hands were shaking.
He had used too much aura and both his body that was holding the sword as well as the aura he could generate were reaching their limits.

Choi Han happily accepted those limits.

"Choi Han. What you need to do from here on is to create a path for my spear to reach its heart."

"It sounds easy."

He was ready to accept the role he was assigned.
This power that was created with hope from within despair was special just to Choi Han.
The shining black aura fluctuated like a violent wave and slowly started creating the Black Yong.
Choi Han raised his sword.

"Huuuuuu."

He took one deep breath.
He then charged toward the target without any hesitation.

"I leave it to you!"

Alberu pulled out his spear that was stabbed into the monster.
Choi Han's aura could not pierce through the monster's scales, but it was strong enough to cause a lot of damage to its insides.
The Black Yong was an existence that could get as violent as necessary.
Choi Han's body and sword charged toward the hole Alberu's spear had made as soon as the shining black aura turned into the Black Yong.

Oooooo-

The Black Yong charged through the air and roared. The moment it touched the injury that Alberu had created…

"Rooooooooooooar—!"

The monster moved its body intensely to dodge it.

"Grab it!"

However, the monster's shield and right side were being held down by Eruhaben and its left side by Mila.
They were receiving scratches on their bodies, but the two Dragons did not care.
Strength against strength. The Dragons channeled every ounce of strength they had left.

That was why Choi Han's Black Yong was able to run amok into the injury and stab its fang inside.

Baaaaaang-

The injury caused by Alberu opened some more.
The Black Yong ruthlessly charged forward in a straight line and swallowed the monster's insides. It was doing it in a way that was fitting its despair attribute while pushing forward with hope for their future. The Black Yong was moving in the direction Choi Han had decided.

Choi Han followed behind it as well.
His hand holding the sword, his arm, upper body, then his entire body started shaking even more.
The Lion Dragon's insides were weaker than its scales, but still strong.

'Bones.'

This was especially true of the Lion Dragon's bones that were blocking his path to its heart. His Black Yong could not break them.
However, that was okay.

– Will you use up the rest of your mana?

"Use all of it except 1%."

– As you command.

Tang-! Tang, tang!

Gunshots rang through the air as the bullets pierced into the Lion Dragon's bones and cracked them.
The Black Yong was able to continue on its path thanks to those small openings.
Choi Han started to smile. The corners of his lips were shaking as well, but he could finally release his grip on the hand holding the sword and step back.

This large monster's body was so strong that it took two Dragons to hold it down.
The black aura that had moved in a straight line from the monster's back finally reached its target.

"It is your time now, your highness."

The monster's white heart that had been hidden at the center of its body revealed itself.
This heart was not beating like a human heart. It just existed there, as if it was a heart-shaped sculpture.

The weapon that could destroy this heart was here.
The weapon that was in Alberu's hand had changed into the shape of a spear.

"Rooooooooooooar—!"

Whether it was because of the pain from its back reaching its heart or because it felt that its end was near, the monster flailed more violently than ever before.
However, the two Dragons were using mana to tie themselves to the ground and hold it down.

"Ugh."

"Quickly! Hurry up!"

The Dragons were reaching their limits as well.
That was why Alberu was ready to throw his body, his spear, and everything he had toward the monster's heart.

– Remaining mana, 18%.

"How much mana do I need to use to break that heart?"

– All of them.

Use every ounce of mana he had.
Alberu nodded his head.

He stepped back and said something to Choi Han before charging toward the heart.

"Choi Han. Cover me."

Even with his necklace, the spell disguising him might be released until his mana refills if his remaining mana was completely drained. His dye magic might not disappear, but he needed to prepare for the worst as he had never used all of his mana like this before.
Alberu liked his quarter Dark Elf self, but he wanted to control when he would reveal that to everybody else.

"Please don't worry."

Choi Han gave a calm response, but his body was shaking.
That was why Alberu could trust him completely. He left the rest to Choi Han and charged forward toward the heart.

This white heart that does not beat…
The white spear stretching out toward that heart…

– Releasing all mana.

– Remaining mana 15%… 12%...

One of his natural powers, the black mana, wrapped around the spear. It was dead mana.

-5%…3%…1%…0%.

The moment all of Alberu's mana gathered at the tip of the white spear…
The white spear with black mana stabbed into the monster's heart.

Puuk.

"Roooooooooooooooar—!"

The monster released a different kind of roar than before.
Alberu could see his dead mana slowly turning the monster's white heart black.

Crack. Crack.

Cracks were starting to appear on the heart.
Alberu could see his white skin that was holding the white spear turning dark brown.

Paaaat-

A black light burst out of the breaking heart at that moment.
The light was pitch dark so that nothing could be seen, however…

– Destruction of target completed.

– You have taken down the monster, the Lion Dragon.

Alberu smiled while listening to Taerang's voice.

'I did it. I finally caught this monster.'

Although he had a smile on his face, Alberu furrowed his brows as his eyes started shaking.
At that moment…

– Remaining mana has reached 0. Temporarily entering protection mode for the user's safety. Protection mode means that you will faint.

"…Huh?"

Everything started to go dark for Alberu for a different reason.

'Faint? I'm going to faint? Right now?'

"Your highness!"

He could see Choi Han piercing through the black light bursting out of the heart to get toward him.

"Your highness! Please wake up!"

A shocked Choi Han shouted at Alberu while putting his old and ragged robe on Alberu to cover Alberu's skin, but Alberu could not respond.

'…Shit. Now I understand how Cale Henituse fe-'

He fainted immediately at that point.
This was the first time in his life he had fainted.

***

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]