Chapter 318: A Peculiar Power (13)

The Reference Point.

The moment the small crystal containing the seal broke.

For the first time, Cale locked eyes with Neo without any hindrance.

Craack—

Well, there had been an obstacle.

A semi-transparent black shield.

A barrier created by Raon.

Craack-crack—!

But the mana surrounding Neo's hand easily shattered it.

- It's the first time I've seen something break so easily.

As the terrifying Super Rock said, Raon's shield was too weak against Neo.

It couldn’t be helped.

- Human, I was late.

As Raon mentioned, Neo the Dragon appeared before Cale even before the shield could properly form. That’s why Raon had to cast a hurried spell, resulting in a shield that was easily destroyed.

- I couldn’t react properly!

Raon's voice was filled with frustration.

‘Seeing doesn’t always solve everything, right?’

Raon clearly saw Neo the Dragon’s movements.

Even if Neo used his time ability, Raon sensed the hint and cast his magic.

Yet, he was still slow.

‘It’s only natural.’

Raon was also reacting based on what he saw, so he couldn’t fully handle Neo, who was living in a different time.

Flap, flap.

The same was true for the Dragon Half-Blood, who cast a shadow over Cale.

The massive shadow created by the dragon’s body.

Under that shadow, Neo and Cale stared at each other.

For a brief moment, the shield broke, leaving no obstacles between them.

Barely two steps apart.

Neo’s weary eyes looked at Cale, and Cale understood.

‘He knows me.’

He recognized me the moment he saw me. He knew who I was. This confirmed it. His information had spread widely among all the hunters.

- Again—!

Raon tried to raise another shield. But he couldn’t.

Whuuu—whuuu—

Suddenly, the sky began to rumble.

“Hmm!”

The Dragon Half-Blood looked at the sky in surprise. The sky, once filled with gray clouds, began changing strangely.

Zap, zap.

Electric currents surged between the clouds as if about to unleash lightning.

Whoosh—

And in a place somewhat distant from the fields, rain began to fall.

Rumble—

The sky roared even louder. The gray sky turned red, then dark blue like the dawn, filling with strange chaos.

“…….”

Neo’s gaze, which had been on Cale, shifted to the sky before slowly lowering.

The broken crystal.

The moment his eyes fell on the shattered crystal…

Crack.

A shoe crushed the broken crystal. He looked up.

“Cale Henituse.”

“Yes.”

Cale responded with a smile.

“Why are you saying my name?”

The moment he said that Neo extended his hand.

Boom!

A loud sound echoed.

- You’re quick even without using your ability.

The terrifying Super Rock commented.

- It’s fine.

Added the Glutton Priestess.

“…….”

“…….”

Through the semi-transparent shield, Cale and Neo stared at each other again.

“…….”

Neo glanced at the shield, which didn’t have a single scratch despite the mana surrounding it, then withdrew his hand.

Step by step, he retreated.

He looked around.

“This is—”

“The transformation is—!”

Strange sounds also rose from the ground. The vibration was so intense that it sounded like the howl of some unknown beast.

“…”

Neo attentively observed all of this. But Cale couldn’t attack him.

‘Hmm.’

The purple mana surrounding Neo grew increasingly agitated. A strange energy enveloped him. Although he appeared to be watching his surroundings, all his senses were focused on Cale and his allies. If Cale attacked now, Neo would immediately counterattack.

‘Hmm.’

Cale sensed something in Neo that he hadn’t felt in other enemies before.

‘It’s ominous.’

It wasn’t fear, strength, or terror.

It was ominous.

Neo’s presence gave Cale an unsettling feeling. It was unpleasant.

Why?

He couldn’t afford to dwell on it.

‘It’s complicated.’

Setting aside his feelings, he couldn’t easily attack Neo.

Time.

That ability was truly complicated.

‘I barely saw it.’

Cale, the Dragon Half-Blood, and Raon.

The three could see Neo’s time, but to different degrees.

Cale was a bit behind the two Dragons.

But he waited.

“Human!”

Raon shouted at that moment.

Sssh.

The corners of Cale’s lips curved into a smile.

- …..-

There was no sound. But everyone noticed the change.

- The mana is trembling.

Yes...

The mana, which had only been granted to a few since the Great Transformation, began to stir.

The sky and the earth. It didn’t stop there. Finally, the world’s energy began to shake. The mana was trembling.

Haa.

Neo the Dragon Lord let out a sigh. Then he spoke.

“Come out.”

He was now at the center of the castle. On the terrace of his room. And his voice echoed throughout the castle.

- Human, the enemies are here!

Eruhaben, Rasheel, Mila.

The Dragons who never responded to calls.

The Ten Dragon Gods.

And the dragons under the Dragon Lord’s command.

All of them appeared.

And their number—

‘There’s so many!’

- Human, there are far more than we expected!

There were far more than expected, reaching dozens.

‘How did we not detect them earlier?’

He didn’t wonder where they came from.

“The Purple Blood.”

The Purple Blood Family. It was said that the former leader was also a dragon. It wouldn’t be strange for there to be followers of that dragon. And those dragons weren’t from Aipotu. They were simply Dragons from the hunter family.

‘Why didn’t I think of this before?’

Damn it. Cale’s face twisted as he saw the dragons.

- They look quite strong!

As Raon said, the new dragons didn’t seem easy to defeat.

They weren’t Dragons who had consumed the World Source, but they appeared to be veterans with extensive combat experience.

The Dragon Lord quietly observed the dragons staring at him and then looked around.

Humans, elves, dwarves, and other various races who followed him.

“They’re not of much use.”

Whuuu—whuuu—

The sky and the earth roared, and the mana stirred.

They weren’t very useful. That’s why Neo summoned the Dragons. And he gave an order.

“Kill them all.”

At that moment...

The first one to move caused a loud noise.

Boom—!

“Ah!”

A dragon screamed as it held its severed arm.

“How dare you, Human!”

Blood dripped from the Dragon’s arm. And the one who created the loud noise and cut the Dragon’s arm dropped his sword.

Drip. Drip.

Blood dripped from the sword onto the ground.

“I don’t usually follow orders. But this time, I have to.”

The Heavenly Demon. He smiled as he looked at Neo.

“Yes, we must kill everyone, right?”

His sword descended slightly from above.

Slash.

The drops of blood staining the sword scattered everywhere.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Each drop of blood, filled with inner energy, destroyed everything it touched.

The Heavenly Demon calmly smiled.

“Dragons also have red blood.”

“How dare you!”

Growling, the injured dragon charged at the Heavenly Demon.

The Ten Dragon Gods. Among them, the Dragon with the most overwhelming strength.

Boom!

A loud noise accompanied by an explosion resounded where the Heavenly Demon stood.

Everything shook.

But when the dust cloud cleared, only the Dragon with overwhelming strength remained.

“…You, you—Human?”

The Dragon’s eyes widened. Its gaze shifted upwards. The Heavenly Demon was now at the top of the castle’s tower. His surroundings fluctuated. It wasn’t due to the agitated mana or his martial arts.

It was a dark red aura.

“Ha.”

Cale heard Choi Han’s incredulous laughter from behind him. Cale felt the same.

‘Is this just the beginning?’

Who would call that aura just the beginning?

Sure, the scale of the aura was smaller than Choi Han’s. But considering that Choi Han had a smaller scale than other dragons compared to Cale, perhaps you couldn’t refute that this is just the beginning.

But—

‘The content is different!’

It doesn’t matter if the scale is small. That dark red aura.

‘It’s terrifying.’

Every part of it was terrifying to the point of being deadly.

“It’s ruthless.”

Yes, the Heavenly Demon’s aura was different from Choi Han’s and Cale’s. He had the intent to dominate, just like Cale, and a firmness that wouldn’t bend to anyone, like Choi Han. But the strongest thing of all was his ruthless determination. No, rather, his faith.

‘Yes, it’s faith.’

The Heavenly Demon. He is the Leader of the Demonic Cult. And the Demonic Cult is not just a military group but also a religious sect. To them, the Heavenly Demon is the sky. Always visible but unreachable.

The followers of the Demonic Cult believe that the Heavenly Demon is the sky. The Heavenly Demon’s dark red aura was infused with that belief.

A faith so ruthless that it even defies death.

- He’s crazy.

Super Rock said in amazement.

- That man truly believes he is the sky and the Heavenly Demon.

Literally. The Heavenly Demon’s aura is the ‘Heavenly Demon.’ He rejected the technique of the Absolute God because he wanted to find his own path. And the path he finally found was the ‘Heavenly Demon.’ But he didn’t become the Heavenly Demon because he was called that.

‘He chose to be the Heavenly Demon himself.’

He proclaimed himself the Heavenly Demon.

And who would celebrate that decision the most?

The Heavenly Demon himself?

No.

There were others who rejoiced at his presence.

“This will be chaos.”

Creak—

The gates of the black castle opened. The sky thundered and the earth trembled. The mana surged in turmoil. But there were those on Cale’s side who remained unaffected by this.

- Human, they are warriors from the Murim.

The temporal portal connecting the Central Plains and Aipotu.

Through it, they arrived gradually, filling the black castle.

The Murim warriors from the Central Plains had come for various reasons.

To take revenge on Neo, who had destroyed Sichuan. Or to deal with those related to the Blood Cult in preparation for the future.

Or simply—

- The Demonic Cult is at the forefront.

To follow their Heaven. The aura of the Heavenly Demon did not only instil terror. For some, it brought ecstasy.

The Demonic Cult.

Seeing the fervour of his followers, Cale muttered unconsciously.

“They’re even crazier.”

The followers of the Heavenly Demon were ready to die if he asked them to. Now, without fear of death, they stormed onto the battlefield.

Yes, they literally stormed in.

Without hesitation.

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Kill them all.”

The Heavenly Demon repeated the same words that Neo had said.

“What a character.”

Cale grinned upon hearing that. Just as the Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Demon (魔)!”

The Demonic Cult charged toward the enemies. The Murim warriors followed them. For those with inner energy, the turmoil of mana meant nothing.

“…….”

And the Heavenly Demon moved again.

“Damn it!”

A Dragon lunged toward him.

Boom! Bang!

Explosions rang out. Not only the Heavenly Demon. The Fist King Mok Hyun, the Beggar Sect Elder Ho, all of them attacked mercilessly.

‘Unleash chaos.’

That was the only command in their minds.

Add more chaos to chaos.

That was their role, and for the warriors of Murim, creating chaos was not difficult. They threw themselves into battle without concern for the consequences.

Humans, elves, dwarves.

“Damn humans!”

And Dragons as well. The Dragons watched in shock and disbelief as Mok Hyun, Elder Ho, and the Heavenly Demon charged toward them.

“!”

Some Dragons felt a chill and hastily retreated.

And in the place where they had stood…

Boom!

Bang!

Explosions echoed as the ground collapsed.

And in the pit stood two beings.

Amidst the Murim warriors, hidden under hoods.

Swish.

Witira, the successor of the whales, removed her hood.

Mana? Earth? Sky?

What did it matter?

Witira extended her hand.

Drip. Drip~

“This time, it’s raining.”

Beside her, a man pounded his fists.

Bang, bang!

Laughing heartily, it was Archie.

“Hahaha. Fighting against Dragons. Damn it, I love it!”

The whales joined the battle.

And they weren’t the only ones...

Caw, caw.

Crows appeared in the sky.

Steady steps.

The Tiger Tribe’s Shaman, Gashan, calmly walked out of the black castle. Passing by him, the Beast People charged onto the battlefield. Leading the group was Wisha, the White Snake, who transformed into a massive serpent and struck with her tail.

Boom!

The ground shook. And using that tail as a springboard, a figure leaped. It was Lock of the wolves. Already in his Berserk form, he easily leaped over the castle wall and landed on the ground.

Murim warriors and Beast People.

The Dragons looked on in shock.

With disbelief and astonishment, but also…

Conversely, the Murim warriors and Beast People were smiling.

They couldn’t help it.

Archie addressed the Dragons with an arrogant grin.

“Aren’t you going to use your abilities?”

He smiled again.

“Mana is hard to use, isn’t it?”

Yes.

Mana was in chaos now.

In this situation, it was difficult for the Dragons to use magic. They would need to concentrate to use spells. And while they were focusing, they would be attacked. So, their best weapon was their abilities.

Smile~

Cale’s lips curved into a smile.

Thud~

Thud~

Beside him, Eruhaben and Mila landed. The former Dragon Lord Sheritt still floated in the air above the black castle, observing. With dragons by his side, Cale addressed the Dragon Lord.

“It seems like teleportation will be difficult. Right?”

Space-Time.

To control space, the first step is to block teleportation.

Dragon Lord Neo couldn’t teleport because the mana was in chaos.

Because the mana coordinates at the location he wanted to go would be distorted.

“Hahaha.”

Behind Cale, Raon laughed. It was a rather bothersome laugh.

“!”

Cale’s eyes widened.

“Hehe.”

And Cale also grinned annoyingly.

Why?

- Human, I can use magic just like always!

Truly.

‘I hadn’t considered that.’

Raon could use magic as usual.

Present.

That ability is truly great.

Cale smiled and spoke to the enemy Neo, who could still use the time ability.

“You have no choice but to fight here. Right?”

“…”

Neo’s eyebrows furrowed. The purple mana in his hand grew even more agitated. Despite the chaos, his mana did not waver.

“!”

But in an instant, Neo stopped. Seeing this, Cale raised his hand as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

First, he stalled him.

Then...

‘He needs to be confined.’

The moment Cale made a gesture, the former Dragon Lord Sheritt moved.

Thud!

When she lightly struck the ground, the black castle trembled. And the numerous shields that were beside her began to move at once. No, more shields continuously appeared.

“…….”

Neo watched as hundreds of shields headed toward him.

Shields that filled his vision. And in the midst of that dense formation, a small gap.

Through that gap…

- It’s the gramps’ dust!

The golden dust settled into the gap between the shields. Then Mila, with the ability to ‘combine,’ took care of it.

Shields and dust.

She quickly merged them.

The speed was incredibly fast.

The three dragons used all their energy. Their goal was peculiar.

To confine.

To completely bind Neo within space.

Of course, Neo didn’t stay still. Even though he couldn’t teleport, he was still powerful. But there were those who stood in his way.

Shing.

Choi Han, Clopeh, and Hannah.

Choi Han unleashed his aura.

“Hehe.”

“This will be fun.”

Clopeh and Hannah invoked their dark mana. Another energy unaffected by this chaos.

Dead Mana.

And at this moment, those joining the battle and facing the enemy were the dark elves.

“Damn it! The Ancient Dragon!”

“We need to destroy the bone connection points controlled by the necromancer!”

And also, Mary the necromancer and the Dragon Half-Blood. There was no better duo to deal with multiple enemies.

Cale observed all of this and then focused on his allies facing Neo.

- Cale, is the final blow yours?

He ignored the words of the Fire of Destruction.

***

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]