Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Chapter 15 - Omen #2
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&
Juingong moved to the hall at the entrance of the small temple and had Karak gather everyone.
Caitlin, Felicia, and Silvan—the three children of the Demon King—were joined by Seira, Delia, and Daphne. With Juingong and Karak, they numbered eight in total.
“Shutora, you smell different from usual.”
As they all stood crowded together, Caitlin suddenly sniffed the air and spoke. She closed her eyes as if to focus on the scent, bringing her nose close to Juingong’s shoulder.
Seeing this, Felicia, who stood to Juingong’s right, let out a small laugh.
“Caitlin, it’s not like you have a dog’s nose… wait, you do, don’t you?”
It was a bit rude, but Caitlin was a Lycanthrope—part werewolf, to be exact.
And Lycanthropes were, in fact, known for their excellent sense of smell.
As Caitlin continued sniffing, Felicia, now intrigued herself, leaned in close to Juingong’s shoulder.
“Hmm? You smell nice. Like fruit. Is it because you’re part Gandharva?”
The blood and flesh of the Gandharva, a race skilled in song and dance, did indeed carry a sweet scent. Just as Caitlin was part werewolf, Juingong was part Gandharva, so it was only natural for him to exhibit their traits.
As the two beauties continued to sniff him, Juingong could only maintain a ramrod straight posture, his expression utterly indescribable.
Silvan, watching them with an envious gaze, poked Felicia’s back with a finger.
“Felicia, don’t I smell nice, too?”
“It’s too strong. Lay off the perfume.”
Felicia replied without a backward glance, and Silvan collapsed on the spot. Still not looking back, Felicia lifted her head and said.
“Maybe it’s because Caitlin mentioned it, but I feel like I smell something different, too.”
Unsure, she tilted her head. Just then, a new voice piped up from behind Juingong.
“Did some of it not wash off?”
It was Green Wind. Having materialized while clinging to Juingong’s neck, she began rubbing against him just as she had in the room.
“Green Wind? What do you mean, ‘not wash off’?”
At Felicia’s question, Caitlin stopped sniffing and looked up, her curiosity piqued.
Meanwhile, as Juingong was once again lost in a strange feeling, Karak was tending not to him, but to Silvan.
“Get up, Prince.”
Karak helped Silvan to his feet with his large, burly hands and said with a grin.
“I’m on your side, Prince. How could I not be, after seeing that?”
Karak glanced at Juingong, who was positioned between a pretty girl and two beautiful women. Silvan nodded in agreement.
Juingong suppressed the urge to shout, *You’re one to talk, Karak!* and got the situation back on track.
“Anyway, back to business. We’re heading to the Sun Lake now. The first reason, as I said before, is to secure materials for Amita. The second reason, you all know, right?”
Juingong even used a Command to dematerialize Green Wind, then took a step back to put some distance between himself, Caitlin, and Felicia.
Fortunately, Felicia was quick to follow his lead.
“Perfect. There were records in the Thunder Doom Fortress archives, right? Besides, the ruins I reported investigating to the Demon King’s Castle were at the Sun Lake.”
Since she couldn’t file a false report with the Demon King’s Castle, it was a place they had to visit at least once. It was a good thing they could take care of it now.
“Ruins at the bottom of a lake… I’m so excited.”
Caitlin’s face took on a dreamy expression as a blissful smile spread across her lips.
Karak spoke up.
“But what about Karma? That guide fellow should be back in a few days. Are you going to leave it to the raccoon to deal with him?”
The two had left to call for support a day apart. They had already contacted Ruben via the long-range communicator on Silvan’s airship, so he wasn’t a problem. The issue was Karma, who was already on her way to the Spider Forest with the rangers.
He knew she was fast, but he never imagined she could retrace a three-day journey in a single day. She must have really pushed herself.
They needed someone to explain the situation to Karma and the Lycanthrope rangers and have them wait for the group.
As Karak said, it would be great if Amita could handle it, but it was questionable whether he would do it properly.
“That seems a bit unlikely.”
Felicia, having reached a firm conclusion, turned to Silvan.
“Silvan, can’t you leave a few crew members behind? We need someone to update our allies when they arrive, and we also need people to guard the Spider Forest.”
“Hmm, the hardest surprise attack to defend against is the one that comes right after another. In that case, I shall leave Sephira and a squad behind.”
After speaking, Silvan struck a cool pose and thumped his chest as if to say, *Leave it to me.* Karak spoke again.
“Sephira, you mean that vice-captain? The purple-haired woman with the hawk.”
“Yes, my brother’s aide. You only saw her briefly, but you remember her well?”
At Felicia’s question, the gazes of Seira, Delia, and Daphne sharpened for a moment.
Karak answered with a calm expression.
“Keeping track of personnel is essential. It’s important to remember new faces. The more unfamiliar faces there are, the greater the risk, right? Spies could slip in. I might not know all the names, but I always make a point to remember the faces.”
From the way he spoke, it seemed he had memorized the faces and characteristics of all of Silvan’s crew.
Silvan stared blankly at Karak before asking Felicia.
“Felicia, is he really an Orc?”
“I’ve always wondered. I’d like to study him sometime.”
As Felicia gave a reply that could have been either a joke or serious, Delia said with a smile.
“Karak is very capable. He’s a model aide.”
“He truly is amazing.”
Seira chimed in, supporting him in a way similar to Caitlin. Daphne didn’t stay quiet either.
“He’s reliable. A dependable man.”
Faced with a string of compliments, Silvan looked at Karak with the same expression he had used for Juingong. Karak just laughed heartily, scratched the back of his head, and said.
“I’m just doing my duty.”
The expressions on Delia, Seira, and Daphne’s faces softened. Juingong simply smiled, and Felicia brought the conversation back on track.
“That’s enough talk. Shall we leave now? Silvan, if you would.”
When Felicia gently took Silvan’s arm, he immediately nodded.
“Leave it to your big brother.”
With that, he promptly exited the small temple and assembled his crew. Watching Silvan and his crew move like lightning, Felicia smiled faintly.
“He’s such an easy brother to handle.”
Juingong pretended not to hear and left the temple with Karak. Silvan’s airship, the Black Flame Dragon, was raising its anchor, preparing for departure.
Ten minutes later.
“Black Flame Dragon! Launch!”
“Launch!”
“Launch!”
Standing on the deck, Silvan drew his sword and shouted, and the entire crew echoed his cry. The jet-black sails unfurled as the mana reactor activated. The airship began to float gently upwards.
“The wind is with us! Ride the wind and fly, Black Flame Dragon!”
“Fly!”
“Fly!”
The crew chanted with flushed faces, while Sephira and the squad seeing them off from the ground looked inexplicably relieved.
“So embarrassing.”
Felicia muttered softly, as if speaking for the entire crew.
&
Silvan Doomblade’s flagship, the Black Flame Dragon, was one of the Dark Elves’ treasures.
Its original name was the Black Ark.
Dark Elf society was matriarchal, so women inherited the family line. The Doomblade family passed the headship to their most outstanding daughter and, for generations, bequeathed the Black Ark to their most outstanding son.
Since the children of a son were not considered part of the Doomblade family but followed their mother’s lineage, the Black Ark would eventually return to the Doomblade family.
Silvan had inherited the Black Ark on the day he came of age from his uncle, Lionel Doomblade, the older brother of the Third Queen, Silvia Doomblade.
This meant it had been less than a year since he’d inherited the airship.
Like a car with a student driver sticker, the former Black Ark, now the Black Flame Dragon, flew safely, but an airship was still an airship. It crossed a distance that would have normally taken at least two days in just a few hours.
Juingong went up on deck and, as instructed by a crewman, fastened a safety line around his waist before approaching the railing. They were at an altitude of about two hundred meters, and though the wind was quite strong, it wasn’t a major issue for looking outside.
The Sun Lake.
It was a place Juingong had visited quite a few times in *Knight Saga*.
The monster Amita wanted him to catch, a creature with a body made entirely of metal, was called a Kaltus. They could live near water despite their metal bodies thanks to a natural waterproofing.
Equipment made from a Kaltus’s metal was also automatically waterproof, making it incredibly useful if handled properly.
‘I hunted a lot of them in *Knight Saga*.’
Thanks to that, he clearly remembered their weakness. They were fairly strong, but the current Juingong was confident he could take on not just one, but five or six at once.
‘Holy Power.’
One of the four powers in *Knight Saga*: Aura, Psionics, Mana, and Holy Power.
It was also the Kaltus’s weakness.
Perhaps because he had formed an alliance with the sacred Final Flame, he had gained a Holy Power level.
‘Mana and Holy Power are naturally difficult to use together.’
They weren’t complete opposites, but they didn’t mix well.
Just as various gods were worshipped in the Human Realm, various demon gods were worshipped in the Demon World.
Flora, who was managing Juingong’s mansion back at the Demon King’s Castle, was a devout follower of Camilla, the goddess of dreams and shadows.
Despite this, Zephyr hadn’t used Holy Power because it created a dissonance with Mana.
‘But I’m different.’
Juingong channeled Holy Power into his right hand, which was gripping the railing. A faint green light, reminiscent of the Final Flame, began to glow.
Juingong then added Mana to it. The white Mana, just like his Aura, began to blend seamlessly with the green light.
The Protagonist’s Body.
The very thing that had allowed even the conflicting powers of Enkidu and Ainkel to harmonize.
What kind of synergy would be created if Holy Power and Mana were harmonized? What if Aura and Mana were mixed, or if all three powers—Aura, Mana, and Holy Power—were combined?
Taking a deep breath, Juingong looked into the distance again. Beneath a red and yellow sky where the sun was beginning to set, he could see a massive golden lake.
A place called the Sun Lake because of the faint golden light that emanated from it, day and night.
The metal monster Kaltus was not the only thing to be found in that lake.
The monster known as the guardian of the Sun Lake.
A being that could well be called a boss monster.
‘It’s about time for it to show up.’
Whenever the sky turned from sunset to twilight and night fell, it would raise its head from the lake.
Moreover, Juingong himself was here today. He always wanted to deny it, but today was different.
Was it because his prayers were answered?
“A Sea Serpent?! In a lake?!”
Just as a crewman at the bow let out a cry of astonishment, Juingong clenched his fists.
The emergency bell, which sounded urgent to others but cheerful to Juingong’s ears, rang out, and battle-ready crewmen rushed onto the deck.
“A Sea Serpent?!”
Silvan stared at the lake with a rather serious expression. The Sea Serpent, also seeming to notice the Black Flame Dragon, glared back with fierce eyes.
A Sea Serpent.
A lesser dragon that lived in the sea.
A powerful monster also known as a sea snake due to its length of several dozen meters.
It was the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the Sun Lake. As befitting a monster with draconic lineage, it was incredibly strong, and since the battle would take place on the lake—its home turf—it was an exceptionally tricky opponent.
But today would be different.
“Incarnation of Fire.”
One of the skills he received from the Final Flame.
The moment he uttered the words, green flames ignited on his Dragon Scale Greaves. Juingong, equipped with Earthquaker and White Eagle, unfastened the safety line from his waist.
“Shutora?”
Silvan turned to look at Juingong, while Felicia opened her fan. Instead of being surprised like Silvan, she watched Juingong with a relaxed expression.
“You’re going to do it?”
“I’m going to do it. We need to investigate the bottom of the lake.”
Juingong replied with a smile and didn’t keep Silvan, who still looked clueless, waiting. Facing Karak, who was laughing heartily, he stretched out his hand into the air.
“Ascalon.”
A masterpiece from the Dragon Slayer series.
The dragon-slaying weapon that had defeated the Black Dragon Partisan at Thunder Doom Fortress, the natural enemy of all those with draconic lineage.
Earthquaker and Ascalon combined. Holding the pure white lance at his side, Juingong turned to Caitlin for a final look.
“Caitlin, sorry.”
Caitlin tilted her head at his apology, and Juingong gave her a genuinely apologetic look.
He’d rather not do it, but ending it in one blow was the cleanest way. He had to use everything at his disposal.
Dragon Blood.
The power of the Dragon Demon.
Earthquaker roared. Juingong’s aura erupted, swelling dramatically. At the same time, the dragon-slaying power inherent in Ascalon began to affect Juingong himself.
At Thunder Doom Fortress, he had simply endured the dragon-slaying power with the feeling of a direct clash. But this time was different.
Moonlight Pill and Starlight Pill.
Using the same technique as when he fought the guardian spirit, Juingong squeezed out Caitlin’s aura. With his now-strengthened aura, he blocked the dragon-slaying power directed at him.
Caitlin looked startled at having her aura suddenly drained, but only for a moment. She pouted her lips, then spoke in a voice Juingong had secretly been hoping to hear.
“Shutora, you’re so mean.”
Why did her resentful words sound so cute? Besides, Caitlin herself was smiling as she said it.
Juingong focused the white and dark blue aura into Ascalon. The power of the Dragon Demon and the green, glowing sacred flame joined it.
Juingong gave a nod to Silvan, who was still staring at him with a dazed expression, and climbed onto the railing.
“I’ll be back.”
“Be back soon.”
The moment Karak replied, Juingong leaped from the railing. He executed a lance charge that was more like a plummet straight toward the Sea Serpent.
&
[Title acquired: ‘Felled a Dragon in a Single Blow’.]
< Chapter 15 - Omen #2 > End