The Strange Dragon Was Massive
A massive claw burst through the abdomen. As if proving that this was merely a fraction of its true form, black scales began to sprout all over its body.
Yet, to call them mere scales did not do justice to their rough, rugged beauty. They were pitch-black, wild scales, far too savage to belong to any natural creature. Above its head floated a ring woven of brilliant light, while draconic wings unfurled, their powerful flaps dominating the surrounding air. Thin, sharp, ink-colored metallic feathers fluttered along the wing bones and membranes, and its pale white teeth were clenched tight, as if suppressing a ravenous appetite. An unfathomable, bizarre profundity dwelled within its eyes, yet at the same time, a strange awkwardness lingered. The ink-black scales covering its entire body felt somewhat artificial—unbefitting of a true dragon—and its yellow, slit-pupil eyes lacked absolute majesty. Instead of noble white feathers, clean, razor-sharp blades sprouted from the wing bones. It was undoubtedly bizarre. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to crush and pulverize the enemies before it.
A noble yet creaking, impure Strange Dragon. Its appearance, though possessing the traits and bearing a dragon ought to have, was twisted by something else.
It was grotesque, yet impossible to deny its draconic nature. Displaying the undeniable power of a dragon amidst such inexplicable dissonance, the entity was truly worthy of the name Strange Dragon.
Crunch! The avatar of the Red Dragon, skewered on the claw like a piece of fruit, was bitten and devoured headfirst. As if punishing the insolence of a mere insect daring to mimic a dragon. It was a deeply contradictory sight, considering the devourer itself was a twisted draconic mutation, but the beast simply licked the crimson blood from its claws. Then came a brief review.
The flavor was awful. Though they were a clan inheriting the blood and power of dragons, capable of partial transformation, they fell miserably short.
Focus. I need to focus. I didn't come here just to casually snack on things. I am Gang Hayun. There was no need to feel an instinctive thirst for this broken, clumsy, and distorted draconic form. In fact, the distortion of this form, which made it look visibly incomplete, was entirely my own choice. To stand tall as myself rather than a mere dragon, I had intentionally twisted and shattered the grand designs of the ancient dragon. As a result, my body did not warp into a White Dragon, but neither did it achieve perfect rebirth. To put it in perspective, my current state was like that of a fetus. A mutant that had cracked its shell and emerged far too early, resulting in twisted, stunted growth. Yet, paradoxically, this was the perfect situation. Had I possessed the complete physical form and talent of a true dragon, my consciousness would have been entirely consumed by the dragon's will. If anything, I needed to suppress the draconic traits even further. The dragon scales and metallic feathers had to be compressed into armor and clothing. The dragon's slit-pupil eyes had to be overlaid with my own extraordinary presence. And the orb—resembling a dragon's Cintamani—floated emptily above my head. An opaque, amorphous sphere bound in the shape of a ring. Only when I filled that void with my own essence would I truly stand as a real dragon, completely myself.
Clutching my head, I bound the source of the pain tightly with ink-black chains and tossed it into a corner. Reaching the pinnacle of the mind truly carried a profound meaning; it seemed I could now manipulate even my own emotions and pain at will. Creak, crackle— My massive draconic form shrank down to fit a human frame. My eyes met Ryeo-ah's as I stood before her, a monstrous figure clad in twisted, dragon-like armor.
"Fufu. That form... It seems you have achieved quite a decent result."
"That is more than enough—an abundant reward, in fact. Securing the initial initiative and maintaining your self-awareness are the greatest indicators of your future progress. If you keep this up, there will be no issues. Well done." As she spoke, Ryeo-ah was paddling her tiny, pathetic limbs in the seawater. A translucent barrier was erected around her, and on either side, my women were huddled together. Ah. I noticed a bit too late, but something definitely happened. I had been too busy trying to pull myself together to realize, but the situation seemed quite dire.
"Speak."
"Hmm. I would prefer you decide such things yourself... but I suppose it cannot be helped since it is your first day. Kill everyone except us. You do not need to take prisoners. You may slaughter them all, so unleash your power to its absolute limit." A remarkably simple command. Unleashing everything I had was exactly what I wanted anyway. I needed a benchmark to feel for myself what kind of power I possessed and what kind of existence I had become.
"Is that... a dragon? Could it really be? No, no. Rather than a legendary dragon, it looks more like the Island Master. In that case, even I..." My first target was that guy. A sinister-looking fellow covered in blue scales with deer antlers on his head. I could sense the energy of the Blue Dragon from him. Whoosh! Draconic claws sliced through the air. I didn't employ any particularly powerful techniques or profound martial arts, but the mere act of wielding a dragon's claw was already terrifyingly threatening. The claws, swung with draconic physical strength, carried immense kinetic force in their own right. Furthermore, the innate authority and power dwelling within those claws possessed a profound mysticism that could manifest all sorts of bizarre phenomena upon piercing an enemy. *Crunch!* "Aaargh!" Under the black ambush, the defensive spells and protective wards deployed by the descendant of the Blue Dragon were completely shattered, and the claws dug deep into his flank. As if mocking the idea that a clumsy defense could ever stop such a blow, all his preparations and barriers crumbled into nothingness. The attack, which bypassed dozens of defensive layers to strike true, bore a striking resemblance to the power of the obsidian Hayun once possessed. "Graaaah!" Yet, a dragon's descendant was still a dragon's descendant, even if degraded. Having narrowly avoided a pierced heart, the man began to take on the form of a Blue Dragon. His slit-pupil eyes grew more pronounced, the deer antlers on his head lengthened, and his torso stretched out like a serpent. Soon, a bizarre creature emerged—a dragon's body with a human face crudely slapped onto it. Instead of caution, I felt an instinctive urge to laugh at the ridiculous sight.
To think he would take on such a clumsy, grotesque appearance. I wasn't exactly in a position to mock others, but if he was going to do it, he should have at least focused on one form. Did he really want to turn himself into a dragon so badly that he was willing to create such an uncanny valley? While both he and I shared the commonality of being half-measures who failed to become true dragons, there was an unbridgeable chasm between us. If my state was immature because I was building the concept of a dragon from the ground up and reconstructing it as myself, his was a so-called "completed form." The problem lay in the contradiction of his life's purpose being focused on turning into such an unpleasant subspecies. A hybrid that had crammed its own uniqueness and individuality into the mold of a dragon. But even after abandoning everything to squeeze into that mold, he could never truly reach the realm of a dragon, making him nothing more than an unpleasant bastard child. Hayun felt a pang of pity for the hideous appearance of this human-faced dragon. Still, I don't want to look at it for long, so let's clean this up quickly. "Let's see if you can block this too!" Countless magic circles began to manifest around the human-faced dragon. Powerful spells containing the forces of sealing, weakening, and dispelling. Had it been the past me, even at the absolute peak of the Three Ultimates, I would have taken significant damage from such techniques. But now, it was laughable. The thoughts harbored by a creature that hadn't even touched the Creation Realm (), and the bastard's novel assumption that such a thing would work on me, were downright absurd. Ah, don't lose focus. Concentrate. This is crazy. It seems his influence hasn't reached me yet, so let's end this quickly. He isn't even worth concentrating on. A single solid hit will be more than enough. "Bind, drift, and melt away!" The dragon's short limbs formed hand seals. Instantly, an onslaught of countless curses and spells poured down. As expected of the methods of the Blue Dragon Island, the holy land of sorcerers and shamans. Intangible spells swirled around me, attempting to seep in. However, as the scales on my body bristled, the spells collided with them and fell away like helpless moths. As if completely immune to anything below a certain threshold of power, only a few of the human-faced dragon's painstakingly crafted spells managed to seep into my body. And then.
Rip! Even the spells and curses that had successfully taken hold were literally grabbed and 'ripped out.' Hayun was relatively ignorant of spells and sorcery. Thus, there was no way he was well-versed in the tricks deployed by someone of the Vice Island Master's caliber from the Blue Dragon Island. Yet, with a few casual waves of his hand—like shooing away mosquitoes—the spells were utterly broken. As if chastising him, showing that attempting to touch a dragon with the petty tricks of a mere Three Ultimates sorcerer was a grave mistake.
Rumble! Grotesque dragon scales grew thickly over Hayun's right arm. Rough, heavy, and thick scales. Unlike the obsidian that deflected all spells and sorcery, this form looked brutally simple, as if entirely focused on raw physical force. Yet, the power dwelling within was far more lethal than its appearance suggested. "...!" The human-faced dragon instinctively tucked his tail and turned his back. Did his calculations tell him that this was impossible to block? It seemed that even with those mutant eyes, he could at least recognize his own limits. But where did he think he was running? If he had the audacity to show his face before me, he should have known he couldn't leave without my permission. *Clank!* Black chains gleaming with an ominous luster erupted, binding the human-faced dragon's body. He thrashed and resisted wildly, but how could a half-breed who hadn't even properly refined a Cintamani ever hope to stand against pure blood? *Whoosh!* "Wait! Hold on—" *Splat!* A hand packed with immense physical force and destruction crushed the sub-dragon like a bug. Still, perhaps because he at least held the shape of a dragon, his entire body didn't explode into scattered chunks of meat, which was commendable. ...Since he didn't die, maybe I should keep him barely breathing and alive for now.
"My dear disciple? The way you open your eyes has grown rather insolent, hasn't it? Not to mention the distinct lack of lust in them when you look at me."
"Hmph. First, sweep away the remnants of the Red Dragon Island and the Blue Dragon Island. We shall speak of the rest after that."
First, I had to kill the mongrels who had swarmed here, completely ignorant of their own insignificance. Carrying a mere speck of draconic blood, yet acting as if they were some grand existence as they gathered in droves—it was quite disgusting. At least they knew how to read the room, as they were already turning their ships around to flee. But where could those relying on mere wooden ships to cross the sea possibly run?
*Rumble!* My mouth split wide open. The opaquely glowing ring above my head descended to my mouth, expanding into a massive magic circle. Beyond my glowing red throat, a concentration of unfathomable colors and power shone with a blinding light. Soon, accompanied by a thunderous roar, a massive point of light condensed, heating even the dragon scales on my chest. ———-! A dark red flash dyed the world in light, accompanied by a bone-chilling ringing in the ears. A beam of light that could only be described as pure destruction spread wide like wildfire. It did not merely disintegrate the structures floating on the sea; it swallowed and shattered the seawater itself, carving all the way down to the seabed. A colossal abyss was gouged into the ocean. As the light finally subsided, a massive cloud of steam rose, and the surrounding seawater rushed in to fill the void carved by the beam.
Satisfying. Though I had overused the dragon's power, the spectacle was well worth it. If anything, pouring all my strength into that single strike allowed me to objectively gauge my current level.
If I had to compare, my level was probably right around Ryeo-ah's. Ryeo-ah, who could exchange blows on equal footing with the Lord of Yagwi City and the Celestial Sahabaek a few times, but was ultimately bound to lose in terms of endurance. I felt I was right around that level... It was just a shame I hadn't been able to harbor a complete Cintamani yet. It was just as I was admiring the spectacular sight I had created with satisfaction.
*Drip.* I hadn't expected the corners of my mouth, which had just exhaled the dragon's breath, to melt away. Not just my jaw, but the flesh, bone, and even the scales were melting. Is it still too early for me to call myself a dragon? It was fine. It was merely a temporary setback, and even this could serve as a lesson. There was still much I lacked. I could slowly restore the balance shattered by that insolent Dokkaebi, and fill the missing pieces with those who inherited the dragon's blood...! It was then.
*Prick, prick, prick—screeech!* The pupils sprouting all over Ryeo-ah's body screamed, emitting ominous soundwaves. A hypnotic force that penetrated even dragon scales. The Strange Dragon opened its mouth as if to make one final struggle, but soon closed its heavy eyelids over its draconic eyes. After casting a few lingering glances at Ryeo-ah, it shrank its body and collapsed before her. Ryeo-ah stepped forward, catching Hayun's falling body with her own.
"Sorry. It's my first time, so I was clumsy."