Chapter 617: Dragon. (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 617: Dragon. (2)
I heard it.
A sound, right next to me.
By the time the thought registered…
Whoosh!
My arm was already moving.
Voom!
A vibration resonated through my very soul. I was preparing to unleash the Heart Fist. There was no hesitation, even though I had used it only a moment ago. I had to ignore the inevitable backlash for now.
Someone had managed to get right next to me without me noticing. That meant I didn't have the luxury of wondering whether they harbored hostile intent or not.
Just as I was about to strike…
Crack!
A sickening sound erupted from my arm. I jerked my gaze toward it.
“!”
Rip!
My outstretched arm had been torn away, leaving nothing but my shoulder.
Thud!
The limb hit the ground.
Spurt! Blood sprayed violently from the stump.
“Yangcheon!”
Woo Hyuk’s eyes went wide as he screamed my name.
I bit my lip hard, fighting the shock. Using my footwork, I instantly blurred backward to create distance.
Drip. Drip.
Blood leaked through the fingers I used to clutch my shoulder. The pain hit me a second later, washing over me in a white-hot wave.
“Hoo… hu…”
I didn't groan. Only ragged, shallow breaths escaped my lips.
What was that?
What just happened?
Ignoring the agony, I stared straight ahead. A figure was standing right where Woo Hyuk and I had been facing off.
It was a young man with hair as white as snow.
“My, my.”
The youth looked at me, a thin smile playing on his lips. The moment I saw that expression, goosebumps erupted across my entire body.
“Such a harsh greeting, isn't it? I’m not very fond of that sort of thing.”
He was repulsive. Just looking at him made me feel physically ill, a deep-seated disgust churning in my gut. I felt a primal urge to seize him by the throat and tear him apart. It was a raw hostility rising from the depths of my dantian.
— Kill him. Now.
An instinctual voice kept pushing me forward. I barely managed to restrain it.
I couldn't win. A single exchange was enough to know that as an absolute fact. As I stared at the young man, my tension wound to a breaking point.
“I was originally just going to watch. It was quite entertaining, you see,” the young man said.
My brow furrowed as I noticed what he was holding.
Why is she there?
It was Yuri. She was dangling from his hand, unconscious.
“But this makes things a bit boring, don’t you think?”
His gaze shifted toward Woo Hyuk.
“Biwegun.”
“...”
At the young man’s call, Woo Hyuk bit his trembling lip.
“We had a promise, didn’t we? So, why are you doing this?”
“...”
“Does this mean you don’t care what happens to the collateral?”
“No, sir… It’s just…”
“If not, is it a lingering attachment? It seems you still have some regrets.”
I frowned as I listened to them. Based on their conversation, I could guess the young man’s identity.
That bastard… then he must be…
The member of the Ice Palace bloodline who had orchestrated the rebellion. Was this him? Since he appeared to be a young man, he had to be either the first or second young master.
This feeling.
Something was wrong. What was this sensation? It wasn't just the overwhelming pressure of facing a powerful being. This was…
Similar to the Palace Lord.
It was the same sensation I’d felt when I met the Palace Lord in the hideout. I wasn't talking about a family resemblance. It was the sheer unpleasantness of his aura.
I felt a revulsion that seemed to stem from his very existence. I had felt it with the Palace Lord, but this was on a completely different level.
This is… right, this was it.
As I sensed his energy, the memory clicked. When I first arrived in the North Sea, I had felt a chilling energy from the land itself—an unexplainable sense of unease.
That energy and his… they were identical.
If the Palace Lord carried a trace of it, this man was the source. He was the origin of the foulness emanating from the North Sea. What the hell was he? Why did my entire body reject him so fiercely?
And more importantly…
What do I do?
How could I possibly escape this?
As my mind raced through a thousand desperate thoughts…
“If Biwegun says he has lingering attachments… then that attachment…”
The young man’s wandering gaze suddenly locked onto me.
In that instant—
He vanished.
I lost him. I couldn't even track his movement.
Grip!
“Keuk!”
My neck was seized. I was hoisted into the air.
“This isn’t how I intended to say hello.”
He forced me to look him in the eye.
“Nice to meet you.”
“…!”
My heart lurched. He was grinning wide.
He had light blue eyes with horizontal, slit-like pupils. I could even see the faint outline of scales on his cheeks. Others might not have recognized it, but the sight was hauntingly familiar to me.
“I didn’t expect to meet one of my own kind here.”
I grimaced at his words.
A Dragon…?
A Dragon. This bastard was a Dragon. And unlike the curse the Palace Lord suffered from, his form was complete. Which meant…
He’s the same as me?
Had this bastard also completed his Shedding?
As I reeled from the shock…
“But…”
His gaze swept over me, appraising my body.
“You’re far more disappointing than I thought. To think something like this is my kin.”
His voice dripped with blatant disappointment.
“I don’t know if you’ve suffered internal injuries or what… but it seems I got my hopes up for nothing. When you first came to the North Sea, I had no idea you were this pathetic.”
My eyes widened. He had known I was in the North Sea from the very beginning?
The hand gripping my throat tightened. The pressure was immense; I was suffocating.
Getting lifted by the neck is more infuriating than I thought. I should reflect on this. If I make it out of this alive, I think I’ll have to use this move more often.
The stray thought crossed my mind even as I struggled.
“What is it?”
He was observing me in even greater detail now. To be precise, he seemed to be identifying every single one of my flaws.
Is he a fucking lunatic?
I couldn't remember the last time I’d been called pathetic and worthless in this life. My looks aside, of course.
“Hmm…”
After a long silence, he let out a smirk.
“I see.”
He had realized something.
“You’re still hesitating, aren’t you?”
“…What…?”
“Are you wondering whether you’re human or a great Dragon? Don’t tell me that’s what you’re contemplating.”
“…!”
I gasped. He had hit the nail right on the head.
But could something as simple as a lack of self-identity really make such a massive difference in power? I couldn't wrap my head around it.
“So that’s why. That’s why.”
I didn't understand, but he clearly did.
Squeeze!
“Kghh…”
The pressure intensified.
“You are such a trivial thing.”
The light in his slit pupils flared.
“You’ve evolved, yet you wish to remain human?”
I tried to grab his wrist with my remaining hand, but it wouldn't budge. It wasn't just the difference in strength—it felt as though I couldn't muster any energy in my body at all.
“How could you? You want to be on the same level as those insignificant creatures? We shouldn’t be like that, should we? We are great beings.”
“The fuck… are you… talking about…”
“I can’t understand it. To remain a half-wit because you can’t even make such an obvious choice.”
His eyes changed. The smile vanished, replaced by a cold, predatory light.
“This was a meeting I had long awaited.”
It was killing intent. It felt faint, but it was absolute.
I’m going to die.
The realization hit me. My survival instincts were screaming. Even without them, the reality was obvious.
“I’ve lost interest.”
If this continued, he would snap my neck like a dry twig. I clutched at his wrist, trying to break free, but it was useless. What could I do? What was left?
“A being that doesn’t even understand its own position is not worthy of being called kin. Just die.”
And so, just as he was about to apply the final pressure…
While still gripping his wrist, I spoke.
[ Let… go…! ]
“…!!”
Fwoosh!
In that moment, a vibration thrummed from my heart, and a violent gust of wind erupted from my body. It was an unintentional use of the Dragon’s Word. I had thought such a command would be useless against him, but…
The man froze for an instant.
Thud!
“Cough…!”
Amazingly, he actually loosened his grip. My body was freed, and I collapsed to the ground.
“Keoheok…”
With one arm missing, my balance was shot. As my airway cleared, I gasped for air, my lungs burning.
“…No way.”
The man stood there, staring at his own hand in disbelief.
“You.”
I raised my head to look at him.
“Are you a Pureblood?”
His voice was thick with shock.
“That can’t be right. There’s no way a pureblood lineage could have survived in this land…”
“…What are you… talking about…”
Pureblood? I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Was there anyone in the world more of a mutt than me? My body was a cocktail of different energies and traits. What part of me could possibly be pure?
However, contrary to my confusion, his eyes lit up with a new realization.
“Ah… Yes. Right. I didn’t expect everything to be easy just because you shed a lowly body.”
He looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“It’s actually a relief that I got to see you here.”
I didn't answer. My eyes darted around, searching for an opening. Woo Hyuk was about ten steps behind me. Namgung Bi-ah was much further away.
I don’t know what this bastard sensed from me, but…
I had to find a way out. That was the priority. Could I save everyone? Objectively, it was impossible. In my current state, even surviving was a gamble.
“I’ve always wondered.”
What should I do? Should I try to tap into my Innate Qi? It was a suicidal move if I used it incorrectly, but I was out of options. Even if it meant my death.
Just as I prepared to draw on that power…
“I wondered how three Fragments of the Dragon Emperor could have gathered in this land. It was because of you.”
I froze. The words hit me like a physical blow.
“…What? What did you just say?”
I stared at him. Dragon Emperor. He had clearly said those words.
Seeing my reaction, he looked puzzled for a moment before breaking into a deep, mocking smile.
“It seems our dear Pureblood doesn’t know anything. For someone with such precious blood, you’re quite ignorant.”
“What are you talking about? If you have something to say, say it clearly.”
“I can’t do that. There’s nothing more delectable than a foolish competitor.”
Competitor?
“Especially if that competitor is the one who inherited the most precious blood.”
“This bastard… keeps…”
I tried to force my body up, but—
“If I had my way, I’d want to devour you right now, but…”
He was no longer in front of me. He was already standing before Woo Hyuk.
“I’ll hold back for now. Because I want to confirm it.”
He grabbed Woo Hyuk by the collar. Woo Hyuk didn't say a word. He didn't even resist.
“That by trampling you, a Pureblood, and tearing you apart to devour you, I am the truly chosen one. And for that…”
Wooooong!
Sensing a strange vibration, I looked up at the sky.
“…What?”
The sky was distorting. The very space in the air was twisting and warping.
“You’re too weak right now. Shouldn’t we at least meet when you’re at your best for it to be a proper contest?”
Crack! Crack!
Cracks appeared in the sky, and the atmosphere began to shatter. Space was collapsing in real time.
“So, I’ll just withdraw this time.”
In the midst of the chaos, he gave me that characteristic smile. He was leaving? Just like that? It seemed like a stroke of luck, but…
I looked at him, my face contorted in rage.
“…Are you planning to take him with you?”
I meant Woo Hyuk.
“Of course. Biwegun is indispensable to me,” he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You know, don’t you? We never let what is ours be taken away.”
Grind.
I gnashed my teeth. Even if he took Woo Hyuk, there was nothing I could do. I was powerless to stop him. The weight of that realization was devastating.
“It’s not much of a substitute, but…” he said. “I didn’t kill my cute little brother who brought you here. And I’ll retreat today without touching the other fragments.”
“Other fragments…?”
I tried to press him, but the world drowned out my voice.
FWOOOOSH!
The shards of the collapsing space began to swirl around him. They spun with the ferocity of a typhoon, a storm of reality itself.
Within the gale, his voice echoed.
— Oh, right. My name is Yuseon.
— I hope you’ve made up your mind by the time we meet again. Otherwise, it won’t be any fun.
Kwagagagak!
The storm expanded rapidly, swallowing everything. There was no escape. The wind and the fragments of space reached me in an instant.
— This is a small gift for that purpose.
His voice lingered in my ears.
— I do hope you like it.
Then, the darkness swallowed me whole.
* * *
A short while later.
My eyes snapped open. The first thing I saw was the familiar sight of a snow-filled sky.
“…!”
I shot up immediately.
Am I alive? I’m sure the world was collapsing…
Woo Hyuk? That bastard?
What the hell happened?
As I tried to get my bearings, I felt a strange sensation. I looked down at my side.
…My left hand?
My left hand, which had been torn off, was back. The Solar Light tied to it was there as well. It was pristine, as if it had never been severed.
And that wasn't all. I circulated the energy in my body.
What is this?
I gasped. I knew the moment my energy began to flow—every single internal injury had been completely healed.
It was incomprehensible. Not only had my arm regenerated, but the severe internal damage that should have taken months to heal was simply gone.
As I stared at my left arm, trembling, a voice reached me.
“…Ah…”
I froze. The sound came from right behind me, from the spot where I had been lying. It was a voice completely drained of strength, yet so familiar I had been searching for it desperately.
I turned my head.
There, looking at me, was a woman with shackles on her wrists.
She had white hair and those characteristic blue eyes. Her face looked exhausted, but her beauty was still breathtaking. Had my head been resting on her lap this whole time? Her body was partially buried in the snow, a stark contrast to the drifts around her.
“You…”
“You’re… awake…?” she asked softly. “It’s been a long…”
I didn't let her finish.
My body moved of its own accord, pulling her into a fierce embrace. I held her as if I would never let go, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Ah… yes,” Namgung Bi-ah whispered quietly into my shoulder. “I… missed you too.”
It was the answer to the words I hadn't been able to speak.