Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Dragon Demon Sword (1)
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1
At that moment, every being with dragon blood across the continent shuddered.
“A new Dragon Demon Armament has been born…?”
The one who muttered those words was a woman immersed in meditation amid the darkness. Enveloped in tremendous mana force, she sensed an event unfolding in a distant place.
Dragon Demon Armament.
It was the term for a true magical weapon born from dragon power, refined with a soul as its core material.
Another voice echoed from the darkness.
“Dragon Demon Armament?”
“No way.”
“There’s no way a Dragon Demon Armament could be born in this era.”
“Not when even the Dragon Slaying Ritual has been forgotten.”
With that, a multitude of voices began to flood in.
The woman spoke.
“This sensation… it’s unmistakable. A new Dragon Demon Armament has been born beyond our domain.”
“I agree that the sensation is accurate. It’s… unforgettable.”
“But a new Dragon Demon Armament couldn’t have been born.”
“There are no coincidences in the birth of a Dragon Demon Armament.”
“We severed all lineages and destroyed the Spirit Order secrets leading to it.”
They were discussing something terrifying. Though the exact meaning was unclear, the nuance alone revealed a historical-scale manipulation.
“But the latter possibility exists. The master of a Dragon Demon Armament we failed to kill may have awakened from slumber and restored their weapon…”
“According to our records, the last master of a Dragon Demon Armament not under our control died sixty years ago. There’s no way they slumbered that long.”
“Or perhaps a truly new Dragon Demon Armament has been born. Can we be certain our efforts were perfect? In this vast world, with so many humans?”
“Ugh…!”
Silence fell in the darkness for a moment.
Soon the woman spoke.
“For now, all we can do is watch. Until the master of this new Dragon Demon Armament reveals themselves to the world…”
2
Amid the scattering fragments of flash, red hair whipped through the air.
The moment he gripped the Dragon Demon Sword gleaming with a blue sheen, Azel felt power surging through his entire body. The lethargy that had crushed him since awakening was gone, and he felt reborn as the self who had swept the battlefield like a storm during the Dragon Demon War.
Even amid the exhilaration of that vitality, Azel struggled to assess the situation as calmly as possible.
‘Still, my condition is better than right after I first awoke.’
Though it radiated fierce power, the Dragon Demon Sword’s state was poor. It was like a patient barely able to stay awake.
It was inevitable. This Dragon Demon Sword was akin to a beast that had exhausted its accumulated strength during a long hibernation through winter.
It couldn’t even recall the name bestowed upon it at birth. Nor could it draw forth the true abilities honed alongside Azel.
It simply burned its existence to fight for Azel, whom it reunited with after spanning ages.
Krurrr…
The Earth Dragon shuddered. The power emanating from the human challenging it was on a different level from before. It exuded a pressure that could intimidate even dragons.
Thud!
The ground trembled as the small human body took a step forward.
Thud!
Another step, and the air vibrated, whipping up a gale.
“Come on.”
Azel grinned, taunting the dragon.
Human and dragon faced off with equal presence. Though baffled by the incomprehensible situation, the Earth Dragon did not stop.
The Dragon Slaying Ritual had begun. This ritual ended only when one side died.
There was no escape. The one who fled a ritual begun by mutual consent would be cursed to death.
Krurrr…
Immense mana force rippled from the Earth Dragon. It looked to the sky and roared.
Kraaaaa!
The dragon’s ultimate destructive tool: the Dragon’s Roar!
An attack that could upend hundreds of meters in radius commenced. The already devastated forest faced another catastrophe.
But the instant the roar spread, Azel vanished.
Kwahahat!
The Earth Dragon staggering mid-roar choked. Before its roar could fully manifest, a long gash appeared on its neck, spraying red blood.
Kreeeong!
The Earth Dragon screamed in agony. It was pain it had never felt before. For over a century since hatching, after settling in a corner of the Valan Forest independent from its parents, no being had wounded it.
Then Azel’s voice reached the Earth Dragon.
“So you’re a young dragon after all.”
Azel stood atop a half-fallen tree, observing the Earth Dragon.
Calling an Earth Dragon larger than a house “young” was bizarre. Dragons lived a thousand years, but reached full growth in thirty after hatching, becoming ultimate tyrants without natural predators thereafter.
The Earth Dragon before him was a fully grown adult. Though dragons continued subtle growth post-maturity, its size would barely change over centuries.
Yet Azel deemed it young. A single exchange revealed its inexperience and immaturity.
‘Even if humans forgot the Dragon Slaying Ritual, dragons haven’t. But knowing it doesn’t mean they’ve fought it, huh?’
The Dragon Slaying Ritual was an ancient pact between dragons and an unknown mighty sorcerer.
Dragons were dim-witted, but knowledge of the ritual was etched in their blood, passed down innately—like all creatures knowing how to breathe from birth.
But knowing the ritual didn’t mean experiencing it.
Dragons fundamentally didn’t know how to fight well. Their innate weapons were so overpowering that swinging them sufficed for easy victories.
Thus, dragons that had fought others differed vastly from those that hadn’t. Those that had faced the Dragon Slaying Ritual were even more dangerous.
This Earth Dragon was neither. It had never fought another dragon nor undergone the ritual before. Azel was certain.
‘If it had experience, it wouldn’t use the Dragon’s Roar like that.’
The Dragon’s Roar was overkill for a single human—like using siege weapons on an ant.
Moreover, unleashing maximum power at once left defenses vulnerable. With its protective power weakened, even normally harmless force could wound it.
That was why Azel’s earlier strike had inflicted a deep gash.
Krurrng! Karung!
The Earth Dragon roared threateningly.
To it, Azel was undoubtedly its first true adversary. A threat rivaling kin, unlike the prey it had effortlessly crushed before!
The neck wound healed rapidly. A gash that would kill a human vanished as if washed away. Astonishing regenerative power.
‘Now it gets serious, huh?’
As Azel predicted, the ground exploded beneath him, hurling stones like arrows.
Pew-pew-pew-pew-peng!
The stones’ force punched holes through massive trees.
But Azel was already gone. Using Flash Step, he shifted position in an instant and tracked the Earth Dragon.
The Earth Dragon hadn’t stayed put either. It burrowed underground, vanishing.
‘As expected! That’s more like it.’
Azel realized he was excited.
On reflection, waiting for it to heal after his first strike was uncharacteristic. He should have exploited its panic for a quick finish—though that would’ve made slaying the dragon absurdly easy.
But after days of frustration from his weakness post-awakening, gripping the Dragon Demon Sword ignited a desire to feel its power. Thus, he foolishly toyed with the dragon.
‘Drunk on power, exposing gaps… I’m no different.’
Azel chided his carelessness and refocused. He didn’t know this world. Recklessness in ignorance was suicidal.
Kugugugugu…
The ground vibrated from the Earth Dragon’s rapid underground movement—like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Azel gauged its position. It likely sensed his footsteps like an open palm.
But Azel knew its location precisely too. With the Dragon Demon Sword restoring his power, mere invisibility couldn’t evade his senses.
‘Now!’
Azel cloaked his body in protective mana force and moved like lightning.
Pahak!
Blue flash sliced through the leaping Earth Dragon’s body.
‘Too shallow!’
A long gash opened, blood pouring out.
But shallow. It split the thick hide and drew blood, but that was it—like a slight skin cut on a human.
Azel suffered more. The recoil launched him skyward, muscles tearing painfully.
‘Damn! In this state, brute force won’t work.’
Spirit Order transcended human limits, but the body remained human. Stronger flesh, reinforced by mana, unleashed greater power.
Azel’s body was wretched. He’d regained human form in days, but nothing more. No foundation to fully harness the Dragon Demon Sword’s power.
‘And tricks won’t work either.’
He needed tactical victory as before: deceive senses, induce carelessness, strike weaknesses.
Problem: such tactics rarely worked on dragons.
Dragons’ senses couldn’t be fooled.
Neither magic nor Spirit Order mind techniques could distort their mind or senses artificially. This sealed most of Azel’s tactics.
Kyaaaa!
The Earth Dragon burst from underground, shaking the earth. Vibrations made standing impossible; the upheaved ground surged like waves.
Humans needed stable footing to exert power. Aerial mages aside, martial artists faltered on unstable terrain.
Thus, lower body training for balance was crucial. Azel had honed his to extremes—once even standing atop a swinging blade.
But even that was meaningless here.
It was like an ever-collapsing ant hell. Shaking earth and flowing soil—what could one do?
‘Smarter than it looks.’
Regretting giving it an opening, Azel devised a counter.
Just don’t fall. Spirit Order lacked flight but allowed midair redirection or leaps.
Flash Step required stable footing, sadly. But reaching a tree would grant maneuverability.
The Earth Dragon wouldn’t let him escape easily.
Kuuuuwuu…
Waves of earth converged into giant hands, lunging at Azel.
‘Familiars!’
Dragons could create autonomous minions using domain power: dragon familiars.
Uuuuuwuuu!
The familiars howled eerily as they charged.
3
Azel could step through the air, but limits existed. As mobility waned, the familiars swarmed.
“Hmm!”
Blue sword flashes danced. Trailing his swings, sharp gleams severed familiars effortlessly.
Simple cuts wouldn’t stop clay familiars—would they feel it?
But Azel’s strikes were typhoon-like.
One swing vibrated the air. Everything in range split, shattered, scattered.
Slicing while spreading shock like a heavy mace.
Pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah!
The massive clay hands disintegrated. But Azel’s position fixed inevitably.
Soon the ground erupted; the Earth Dragon leaped out. Evading the soil tsunami, he soared—only for countless stones to arrow upward. Airborne, unblockable!
Paaaa!
Azel repelled them with sword-typhoon. Tree-piercing stones shattered on contact.
But the Earth Dragon’s assault continued.
Whoooong!
Thicker than logs, its tail whipped like a flail. Azel, blocking stones, couldn’t evade.
Azel shouted.
“Damn! Let’s see you take this!”
Kwaaaaang!
Explosion resounded.
Shock rippled outward, quaking earth. At center, Azel and Earth Dragon flew opposite ways. Azel spun midair, skidding dozens of meters post-landing.
“Ugh, nearly died.”
He’d negated impact vaulting terrain. Nose bleeding, sword hand mangled.
Cheap price for frontal clash with a fortress-shattering blow. And the foe suffered too.
Krurrrr…
The Earth Dragon groaned in pain. Shockingly, it crashed, rolling several times.
Its tail, clashing with the Dragon Demon Sword, was mangled—bone-severed, dangling, gushing blood.
Locking eyes with Azel, it panicked, roaring in fear.
Kaaaa!
Dragon’s Roar upended earth again.
“Power struggle again?”
Azel staggered, impact lingering. Too late for Flash Step.
‘Then… opportunity!’
Azel steeled himself, raising the Dragon Demon Sword. Mana cycled rapidly between body and blue blade, flashing.
“Haaaa!”
Amid exploding ground, Azel held firm. Encasing flash blocked vibrations and blasts, but body shook, skin lacerated.
He focused, ignoring pain. Any disruption meant death!
Life Circles vibrated violently, mana accelerating to burn Spirit Veins, reviving Dragon Demon War memories. Moments risking life against mighty foes, ultimate techniques through his sword!
“Go!”
With his bloodied body’s cry, he moved.
Kworung! Kworung!
Blue skies flashed lightning, thunder booming.
Azure lightning from the Dragon Demon Sword cleaved the soil tsunami, surging up. Azel’s blue eyes gleamed within.
‘Thunder Dragon Horn!’
Body overcoming earth-quaking vibrations accelerated beyond sound. Secret technique that felled even Dragon Demon Hybrids shielded by mighty magic in the Dragon Demon War!
Kwagwagwang!
By explosion’s echo, lightning had sliced the Earth Dragon.
A beat later, engulfing soil tsunami split diagonally, clearing space between Azel and dragon.
Kruk, kuguk…
Stifled groans from the Earth Dragon as dust clouds billowed massively. Within, its diagonally bisected body gushed crimson fountains, sinking.
Azel clearly saw its shadow collapse through the dust.
Kuuuung…!
The dragon’s colossal body crashed, booming.
4
The earth’s tremors subsided long after. Covered in dirt, Azel staggered forward.
“Cough, cough. Insane.”
He’d felled the Earth Dragon relatively easily, but his state was dire. External bleeding dizzied him; internal injuries severe.
Moreover…
‘Ah.’
The power filling his body ebbed.
The Dragon Demon Sword’s power was temporary.
Forged from his soul with dragon power and mana, it was the world’s sole ultimate weapon for him.
Thus, it existed only with Azel—resonating with his soul, devouring intent, infused with mana.
When Azel slumbered long, it had slowly lost existence, fated to fade.
Preserving it 220 years earned Kallos the archmage title deservedly. But returned across time, it drained its power to him instead of replenishing.
“Sorry.”
Azel apologized to the Dragon Demon Sword.
Weapons were tools; no need for attachment beyond. Yet this was his soul-forged clone. Wordless, it held will, empathizing inwardly.
Thus, he apologized as to a living being.
Shushushusu…
Losing existence, the Dragon Demon Sword crumbled to dust. To its blue foam dispersal, Azel vowed.
“But soon… we’ll meet again.”
When Azel regained past power, so would the sword revive.
Sword faded; Azel staggered to the corpse.
Dragon Slaying Ritual ended. Time for victor’s reward.
Azel’s strike halved the Earth Dragon. Torn heart still pulsed, spurting blood.
Victors drank dragon blood to claim part of its power.
No need for all; symbolic to complete ritual.
Azel cupped gushing blood from the rent heart, sipped slowly.
Thump!
Heart pulsed.
Vitality surged wounded body; injuries healed rapidly.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Overwhelmed, heart pounding uncontrollably, Azel collapsed.
Before him, the Earth Dragon’s corpse glowed—even scattered fragments.
Lights rose, converging on Azel. Ancient ritual: vanquished yields all to conqueror.
Uuuuuwuuu!
Swirling light enveloped Azel. His consciousness whitened within.