Chapter 323: Something Incomprehensible (3)

Crack—

The sound of black bones cracking sped up.

However, no one noticed that sound.

Splash—

Water splashed.

Boom!

A loud noise echoed.

"Human!"

Raon's shout filled the air.

Bang!

Cale's body crashed against the wall.

Whooosh—

Luckily, the wind around Cale's body prevented him from slamming into the wall.

"Haa."

Cale exhaled deeply.

- Cale, there isn’t much time left!

The Crybaby's tearful voice rang out.

- At most, you have 10 minutes before you hit your limit!

10 minutes?

Cale smiled.

"What?"

He had grown so much.

Being able to last 10 minutes using his Instant ability—that was a huge improvement.

Grr!

But Cale couldn’t fully rejoice.

Swoosh—

A purple spell rushed toward where Cale was standing.

"Damn it!"

Boom!

Cale barely managed to avoid the attack, hearing the wall behind him crumble.

'Crazy!'

That Dragon Lord was insane.

- He’s getting stronger! This is a problem!

Just as the Crybaby said.

That Dragon Lord was casting spells with increasing ease and power.

"Will you be able to dodge this too?"

His spells were becoming more powerful.

"Damn it!"

Cale narrowly avoided another attack.

Boom!

A massive explosion occurred behind him. Cale’s gaze turned toward the Dragon Lord Neo.

'Crazy!'

That guy was completely mad.

‘His heart is spiralling out of control faster and faster!’

Thump, thump, thump!

Neo’s heart had grotesquely expanded, beating uncontrollably as if it would explode any second.

But Neo wasn’t controlling it.

Instead, he let it run wild.

"Hahaha."

Laughing as he cast spells.

- Cale!

Super Rock’s voice was heard.

‘I know, I know.’

Cale immediately raised his shield.

Boom!

The shield blocked the spell, but Cale had to immediately use destructive fire afterward.

"Human, I’m fine!"

"Are you okay?!"

Raon, wrapped within the shield. Neo was charging toward Raon, casting spells.

‘Damn it!’

Cale sent a ray of destructive fire between Neo and Raon.

Crackle!

The golden ray met the purple mana.

Boom!

Explosions continued to resound. Cale saw the wall and his enemies suffer damage, but he had no time to worry about that.

- Cale!

He ignored Super Rock’s call.

He immediately launched another ray of destructive fire at Neo.

The wind began to swirl around his body.

With the sound of wind wrapping around his ankles, Cale charged at Neo.

- Cale!

He didn’t listen to the calls directed at him.

He had no other choice.

‘Damn it!’

Stopping time.

That wasn’t a blessing.

Neo and Cale’s eyes met.

A twisted smile appeared on Neo’s lips.

"Who should I kill now?"

The old man’s gaze turned in a direction.

"Should I cut off the swordsman’s arm?"

He was referring to Choi Han.

"Damn bastard!"

Curses left Cale’s mouth. Cale lifted his shield again.

Boom!

Neo’s spell was blocked by the shield, but Cale was pushed back by the impact. Still, he couldn’t step aside.

A touch on his back.

Choi Han’s arm touched his back.

‘This is crazy.’

Neo wasn’t directly targeting Cale.

He was constantly casting spells at Cale’s companions.

In this frozen time.

Cale couldn’t leave his companions vulnerable.

Thump, thump.

Cale felt his heart pounding as he bit his lips.

- It’s already been 5 minutes!

Yes.

Time was passing quickly.

Even in the midst of this, a fleeting thought crossed his mind.

‘Should it still be called Instant?’

A 10-minute duration seems too long for something called instant.

The name doesn’t do it justice.

Cale unintentionally laughed.

A thread of dark blood ran down his lips.

It wasn’t because of using his Ancient Power.

"A long time ago."

"What?"

Neo, who had paused his attack, asked curiously. Cale calmly responded.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve bled like this because of an enemy."

Blocking attacks. Or from the impact of explosions. Cale had suffered internal injuries, his clothes were torn, and his skin was wounded and bleeding.

‘Wow.’

A long time ago. Cale Henituse didn’t usually end up like this in fights.

But it was a familiar sensation.

‘Because this always happened when I was Kim Rok Soo.’

A long time ago.

‘Yes. This sensation, from a long time ago.’

This feeling.

This situation.

This reality.

‘I’ve been living too comfortably.’

Yes.

That’s why his mind wasn’t operating at full capacity.

- Cale! Don’t overdo it!

Super Rock warned again.

- Using multiple Ancient Powers while using Instant... even if you stop before reaching your limit, your body will suffer greatly.

Cale knew that.

But he ignored the warning.

"Would you let your companions get hurt?"

Super Rock couldn’t respond.

Neo did.

"Hehe. It’s amusing."

He couldn’t contain his laughter.

"Your weakness is your companions."

His finger pointed at Raon.

"See? You can’t fight properly because you’re protecting that child."

Raon flinched, but Neo ignored it and continued pointing.

"That ancient dragon."

Eruhaben, whom Cale had saved.

"That swordsman."

Then, Choi Han. Neo pointed at each of Cale’s companions one by one.

Then, he lowered his finger and asked Cale.

"But in the end, isn’t it the same?"

Neo smiled kindly.

"When my time ends, they’ll all die. You know that, right?"

Cale’s face twisted.

That’s the most frustrating part!

Destructive Fire, Super Rock, spoke with restrained anger.

- No matter how much Cale saved his companions now, when Neo’s heart exploded...

- A single dragon’s heart, or multiple hearts fused together, when that purple heart exploded...

- The impact would be devastating.

- Everyone would die.

Cale couldn’t contradict Super Rock.

‘Damn it!’

Cale bit his lips.

Neo smiled kindly as he spread his arms.

"Now, watch."

And time resumed.

Thump.

Cale heard the sound of his own heartbeat.

Whooosh—

The sound of the wind returned to normal.

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

The cries of pain from enemies trapped under the collapsed wall were heard.

"...Cale-nim?"

And he also heard Choi Han’s voice behind him.

"What is this…?"

He met the eyes of the Ancient Dragon Eruhaben.

Confusion and fear were reflected in his face.

Cale understood clearly what that fear was about.

"Cale-nim, your face…"

Cale.

"Raon!"

Eruhaben’s face upon seeing Raon was filled with dread.

It was the fear of seeing them both hurt, more than fear of his own suffering.

"Hah."

Cale let out a bitter laugh.

‘After seeing that…’

Yes, after seeing those faces.

How could he remain still…?

Cale’s gaze turned to Neo.

"Heh, heh—"

Neo was laughing.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

His heart was truly out of control. His heart, now back to normal, was on the verge of exploding.

‘Now, watch.’

Neo had said.

"Stop him!"

"We have to stop him!"

And all the creatures in normal time, enemies and allies alike, were charging toward Neo. They all knew that if his loss of control ended, they might all die.

A twisted smile appeared on Neo’s lips.

"Isn’t it fun?"

They didn’t know when time would stop again.

Like now.

"……."

In the frozen or extremely slow time, Cale saw those charging at Neo, frozen.

Neo looked at them for a moment, then calmly slipped between them and approached Cale.

"If I had become the god of time, I would have had more absolute power. It’s a shame."

Haa. Haa.

Neo’s breathing was becoming more ragged.

"Still, it’s nice to use it all before dying."

After a brief return to normal time, Neo’s interior had deteriorated even further.

Haa. Haa.

The purple vapor mixed with his ragged breaths.

Whoo—

And the surroundings reacted to the purple vapor, vibrating.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

The mysterious purple glow continued to gather around his rapidly beating heart.

Yes, it was about to explode.

Neo knew it and shrugged.

"Since we’re here, I’ll give you a chance."

"...What?"

Cale asked, and Neo responded with a smile.

"You’re going to eliminate those from the Purple Blood Family anyway, right? So, I’ll give you a chance."

"What chance?"

Neo spoke kindly.

"Run away."

"!"

Cale’s eyes widened.

"You can move in this time, right?"

Ah.

Neo sighed and continued.

"That young dragon can too, right?"

Cale’s gaze followed Neo’s to Raon. Raon was still curled up inside the shield, not knowing what to do.

"Escape with that dragon."

Neo’s voice was full of sincerity.

"This is the last act of mercy I can offer you."

"……."

Neo continued, seeing that Cale didn’t say anything.

"Saving the other companions is impossible. You know that, right?"

If Cale tried to fight or stop Neo, Neo would target his companions.

In the process of trying to protect them, he wouldn’t be able to stop Neo.

- Cale, there isn’t much time left!

Moreover, Cale’s Instant wouldn’t last much longer.

Even though Neo had released time for a moment, allowing Cale to use only half of his Instant, he hadn’t recovered, and in this continuation of frozen time, Cale could only use his Instant for another five minutes or so.

Thump, thump, thump.

Cale heard his heart pounding.

"...Damn it—"

A curse escaped Cale’s mouth.

"Haha—"

Neo laughed.

He couldn’t help it.

"Are you going to fight?"

Cale took a combat stance.

"Fine, come at me."

As Neo spread his arms, Cale charged at him.

- Cale!

Cale ignored Super Rock’s words.

Swoosh—

A water whip slashed through the air toward Neo.

Whooosh—

Whirls of wind wrapped around Cale’s feet.

Crackle!

A ray of fire shot toward Neo.

Water, wind, fire.

Three Ancient Powers used simultaneously.

Neo, seeing the incoming attacks, extended his hand.

"Heh, heh. Don’t you care about your companions’ lives?"

And then...

Boom!

Even a silver shield.

- Cale, this way your body will collapse before your Plate does!

Cale opened his mouth.

With blood flowing, he said one word.

"At full power."

- …Damn it!

Super Rock stopped calling out to Cale.

Whoo—whoo—

An aura began to surge around Cale.

The air vibrated.

Grr!

For the first time, Neo let out a groan.

"Heh, heh. You’re using all your power."

Cale really was using all his strength.

Still, Neo didn’t yield to Cale’s powerful aura.

Even though it was difficult, he didn’t back down.

"But I can’t surrender to that power—"

Neo shrugged.

"Because I’m already in a state of loss of control."

Neo, with bloodshot eyes, charged forward.

Boom!

The ray of fire clashed with the purple mana. This time, it was different.

Grr!

For the first time, Neo was pushed back. He looked at his hand. It was numb. Since his heart had started spiralling out of control, it was the first time he felt pain somewhere other than his heart.

"You—"

Cale didn’t smile or speak as usual as he looked at Neo’s distorted face.

Boom!

He simply unleashed his water whip.

Grr!

Neo blocked the water, surprised. He couldn’t stop all the water with his purple mana. His body was pushed back as if it was repelled.

"Human, no!"

Raon shouted.

At full power.

Cale really planned to use all his strength to the maximum.

Fire, water, wind, wood.

Without hesitation, Cale used all the Ancient Powers, which could be called natural disasters, to the maximum.

Just to attack Neo.

And making sure not to harm his other companions.

Drops of sweat fell from Cale’s forehead.

Dark red blood ran down his nose.

"Human, no!"

Raon screamed desperately, but Cale ignored him.

"…"

Even the Ancient Powers remained silent, obediently following Cale’s silence.

Only one existence spoke.

- Three minutes.

Only the Vitality of the Heart informed Cale of the remaining time.

Without rest, Cale continued pressuring Neo.

***

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]