Chapter 279: After Sunset, the Night (9)

It was the moment when Cale's fingertips touched the Sacred Object.

“Huh?”

The Sacred Object was in the shape of a statue, with a strange figure that couldn’t be distinguished if it was a beast or a person.

It looked as if the back of a human embracing a beast had been carved.

“What is this?”

Suddenly, a strange sound was heard.

“......”

It sounded like the howl of a beast.

Cale's gaze naturally turned to the Sacred Object.

'The Howl of the Sunset.'

He remembered the wail associated with the name of this Sacred Object. But it was not an ordinary wail.

- #%$)@%......!

It was an unintelligible howl.

It sounded almost like a new language system.

Cale couldn’t understand the words emitted by the Sacred Object. However—

- Wow, I was startled for a moment!

The moment he heard that howl, his skin prickled. Dominating Aura murmured like an echo.

- What is this? Why do I feel the energy of a God? Are you telling me I got scared?

Energy of a God?

Did that mean the Howl of the Sunset now contained the energy of a God?

That it was not completely corrupted by the black liquid?

Cale's mind was filled with confusion at that moment.

'Should I show it to the Beast People?'

Should he make them touch this Sacred Object?

In that brief moment, which could be considered only a few seconds, several thoughts simultaneously crossed his mind.

Thud.

A strange sound was heard.

Cale's gaze turned to the old mage.

“!”

At the same time, Ryan's voice was heard behind Cale.

“Stab him!”

He didn't have time to see what Ryan's situation was.

The moment he heard Ryan's harsh voice,

Thuuud—

Cale looked at the hand holding the old mage's hair, white hair still in his hand. But the white hair was cut and falling off the head.

“Cale-nim!”

Choi Han's voice became more urgent.

‘The wings!’

Maren.

The young Dragon's wings suddenly moved and cut the old mage's hair. Cale's hand holding the old mage could no longer hold him.

It was then...

“Stab him!”

Choi Han saw Ryan, with his face submerged in the black liquid, shouting.

Swoosh!

The small Dragon wings suddenly became larger. The shape of the wings resembled the wings of a demon described in the books Choi Han had read in Korea. The strange and black wings grew as the joints creaked.

Saaaak!

And then, they transformed into blades and swayed, as if they had a life of their own.

“Cale-nim!”

And the target of those two wings, naturally, was Cale.

Boom. Boom.

Choi Han's heart pounded loudly.

The wings, though born of a Dragon, had transformed beyond recognition, shedding their draconic appearance. Instead, they inspired a sense of horror. The black liquid that dripped from the wingtips seemed to ooze with malevolence.

The wings, which contained something more dreadful than Black Despair, moved toward Cale. The wings had become so large that a single wing was bigger than an average adult. It seemed like the enormous blade would split Cale's body in two.

“Damn it!”

Choi Han raised his sword.

The two wings lunged at Cale.

Bang! Bang!

One after another, thundering sounds were heard.

“Ah.”

A platinum shield and a black shield. Two mana shields blocked the wings.

“Ah.”

Choi Han sighed in relief.

Eruhaben and Raon.

The two Dragons wouldn’t allow Cale to be injured.

Choi Han's gaze turned towards the door where Raon was. And the moment he saw Raon, he stopped.

“Human, be careful!”

Raon's expression was urgent.

Craack!

Then, a sound that Choi Han did not want to hear was heard. He looked back at the original place.

Craack!

The two Dragons' shields shattered and broke into pieces.

It was the first time Choi Han had seen the powerful magic of two Dragons break so easily.

He couldn’t believe it.

Wasn't he just a lackey of Ryan?

How is that possible?

“They are of a different kind.”

At that moment, a voice with a smile was heard.

Choi Han could see the Two-Star Dragon Epley smiling.

“We also need weapons to fight against the gods, don’t we?”

What?

“Aren’t you the servants of the Gods? Then you’re trying to prevent us from becoming Gods, aren’t you? We need to build our own power.”

‘So, are you saying that mage is a weapon to fight against the Gods?’

At the moment when confusion took over Choi Han’s mind, he heard Cale’s voice.

“Damn it!”

It was a voice full of irritation.

Only then did Choi Han remember that Ryan had shouted, “Stab him!”

The two giant wings pierced through the shattered barrier and attacked Cale once more.

Bang! Bang!

But Cale blocked them.

He had the Indestructible Shield.

But that was not the problem.

The white hair was cut, and the mage was freed. And the wings attacking Cale were not an attack, at least in appearance.

“Damn it!”

They protected the mage.

The wings, bigger than an adult, created a moment of opening to attack Cale by not allowing him to get closer.

The freed mage fulfilled his lord’s order.

A swamp covered with black liquid except for a few areas of land. That’s why the Dragons were flying using their magic, and they used their powers to levitate Choi Han beside them, keeping him safe from the black liquid below.

However, there were three beings touching the liquid.

Cale, Ryan, and the mage.

And the mage was the being at the end of the path Cale had created for Choi Han in the beginning.

In one of the few land areas. The mage’s body tilted. He sank into the swamp of his own will. His body was submerged face down in the black liquid.

Even so, the wings elongated and shortened strangely and attacked Cale.

Bang! Bang!

Cale's shield blocked it.

Unlike the magic shield, Cale's shield resisted it without problems.

“So, is it a world within itself?”

Epley murmured and stepped back slightly.

Her role would soon end, when the mage’s head and face were completely covered by the black liquid.

“!”

But Epley's eyes widened.

Crackle!

A huge golden lightning suddenly appeared in Cale's hand.

The electric current rushed towards the swamp.

Kwaaaaaaaaaa-----!

The moment the mage's head was about to sink into the swamp...

The lightning struck it first.

And the black liquid, instinctively, retreated to avoid the lightning.

“Ah.”

The old mage could not be completely dyed black.

He would have no more chances.

At the moment when Epley's eyes twisted.

“Damn it!”

Cale's harsh words burst out.

His eyes met the mage’s.

The mage could not dye his entire face.

“Keke.”

But he was smiling.

Slash.

The wings sliced through one of the mage's wrists, severing his hand. It dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. The mage stumbled backward, his body disappearing into the dark, ominous swamp.

Thud!

And the Sacred Object he held in his hand was also absorbed by the black swamp.

The Sacred Object was dyed black.

In the midst of all this, there was no companion who could stop the mage and help Cale.

At the moment when the mage’s wrist was cut...

Woosh!

Ryan moved.

He rose from the swamp instantly and struck the swamp with his fist.

Thud!

The swamp turned over.

The black liquid rose up.

“!”

Eruhaben deployed his shield and hurried to ascend.

“Ugh!”

If he had been alone, he would have run with his shield on.

“Ugh... Ugh......”

The Dragon Letao was hanging on his shoulder.

“Choi Han!”

The black liquid began to engulf Choi Han, but Raon swiftly intervened, halting its advance.

“Damn it!”

Choi Jung Soo retreated with Raon in his arms, moving away from the black liquid advancing toward the door.

Choi Han, Choi Jung Soo, Eruhaben, and Raon.

With his hands tied, Cale watched as the Sacred Object turned black.

Uwuuuuung---

The swamp began to vibrate.

At the moment when the waves started from the place where the Sacred Object had disappeared...

Swoop!

The mage spread his two wings and soared into the sky. Not a single drop of blood came from his severed wrist. Only the blackened wrist was visible.

“!”

At that moment, Cale felt chills down his spine.

- It's Rage.

Super Rock's soft voice was heard.

The Gorge of Death.

Super Rock, who had used his power for the first time there to stop the Dragon Half-Blood's Rage.

“...So that earlier wasn't Rage, but this is the real Rage?”

Eruhaben's voice was heard, followed by Super Rock's voice.

- Cale. First, strengthen your body.

Cale turned around. There, drenched in the black liquid that had risen to the sky, stood a Dragon with piercing yellow eyes, glowing ominously in the dark.

Despite having a human form, his skin was being covered with blue scales. A form that was neither human nor dragon. The black liquid swirled around him like tentacles. As if Witira were controlling the water.

At that moment, Cale understood.

Crown Prince Adin.

The bastard who had absorbed the Black Despair. The one who had become a being similar to a Black Mage.

Ryan was the superior version of him.

Eruhaben's shout was heard.

“How can a Dragon use Dead Mana?!”

There was no time to answer that question.

Boom!

At the moment when Ryan kicked the ground, the black swamp rippled, and a jet of black water rose to his palm.

“......”

The Sacred Object was in his hand, and he kicked the ground once more.

Boom!

His body shot straight into the sky. His figure, rising into the sky wrapped in black water, was like a blue flame.

All of this happened in an instant, and of course, Cale followed.

“...Damn it.”

Ryan was rising into the sky. Cale could see over Ryan's shoulder that night had fallen without him realizing it.

Above and below.

Everything was black, only Ryan shone with blue light.

Like the Blue Wolf.

Realizing this, Cale felt an inexplicable unease for the first time since arriving in Aipotu.

It was something close to an instinctive intuition.

- Don't worry, Cale. It doesn't seem like he has become a God yet.

At the moment he heard Super Rock's calm voice, Cale rose into the sky on the stage and faced Ryan.

But right at that moment...

Boom!

Someone landed harshly on the nearby roof.

“Huff, ugh.”

At the moment Cale realized the identity of the panting person, his eyes widened, and the moment he heard that voice, his eyes filled with surprise.

“Who's the one needing help?!”

Huff.

Lock's figure, panting, appeared. Lock, with his silver fur splattered with blue.

He urgently spoke.

“Someone keeps screaming for help!”

Suddenly, Cale realized that Lock's standing size was similar to that of Ryan, the enormous Dragon.

He knew he was big, but was Lock this big?

Suddenly, he remembered Lock's back blocking the way in front of Cale in the Gorge of Death.

‘That must be the voice of the Sacred Object!’

“Haha.”

Cale laughed.

The strange moan he heard when he touched the Sacred Object.

Lock had heard it.

Come to think of it, it seemed like only Lock had heard it.

Cale's unease completely dissipated. He asked as if nothing had happened.

“Do you still hear it?”

“Yes, it keeps sounding, although softer and fainter...”

Cale listened to Lock's hurried words and became convinced. The Sacred Object in Ryan's hand was completely black.

But that was just the appearance.

‘So not yet?’

The interior of the Sacred Object was not yet completely tainted.

“Ha-ha-”

With that, Cale's expression returned to normal.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

And Lock, watching Cale like that, felt his heart pounding. He recalled the situation from a moment ago.

***

Lock, alongside Hong and Maren, was searching for the mage when they arrived.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Suddenly, he had a thought.

‘Why does my heart keep pounding like this?’

Was it because of anxiety? Or was it because there was some calm around now that this situation suddenly felt strange?

At that moment, he suddenly heard a voice.

'Huh?'

'Why are you asking that?'

'What's wrong?'

On and Hong looked at him curiously.

With that, Lock realized that only he could hear that voice.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The more he heard the voice, the faster his heart beat.

‘Wait a moment.’

Lock quickly climbed to the nearby roof.

It was to find out where the voice was coming from.

- Are they alive?

And the voice sounded.

Lock's gaze turned to the stage.

The voice came from there.

Once he recognized it, the voice became clearer and clearer.

- Don't suppress your instinct.

He heard it clearly. It was a strange voice.

Was it a woman, a man, an elder, or a child?

An unfamiliar voice. But it had a solid center, and, at the same time, it was a warm voice.

- Trust yourself.

- Being strong is not the same as being violent.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His heart pounded.

- Dirt doesn't make the essence disappear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

- The silence of the night isn't scary; it's just the sun setting. Don't be afraid of the night.

But the clear voice faded.

No, it became smaller.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It can't be.

Lock moved involuntarily.

He felt that voice couldn't disappear.

He moved.

- It wasn't me who protected them. They protected themselves.

The words continued, like a final teaching from a master to a student.

- ...you.

Ugh. Huff.

Lock, jumping across the roofs, ran out of breath.

At that moment, the faint voice changed.

- ...Can you hear my voice?

Yes, I can hear you!

He wanted to answer, but instead, he hurried to move.

Baaaaaaang----!

As Ryan's roar echoed, a dark, liquid-covered form surged upward. Ryan was completely out of control. And then, Lock saw the object clutched in Ryan's hand, and instinctively, he understood.

It's the Sacred Object.

It's the voice of the Sacred Object.

Realizing this, Lock swallowed.

How had he run here without thinking?

And he positioned himself as close as possible to Cale and Ryan.

The Dragon's Rage.

Even without it being explained, seeing Ryan's appearance, Lock suddenly recalled the moment he faced the Dragon Half-Blood's Rage in the Gorge of Death.

At that moment, Lock had used his Berserk Transformation to protect Cale and Raon.

Of course, the current situation was more serious than that.

So, he thought.

Should I retreat and move away?

Lock wondered if he had gotten into a place he shouldn't be.

At that moment, Cale, looking into his eyes, spoke bluntly.

“You arrive just in time.”

Ah.

Despite the urgent situation, Lock couldn't help but smile.

Cale's back was still tall, and yet, as back then in the Gorge of Death with Cale and Raon in front of him, he wanted to be like that even now.

***

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]