Chapter 214: Severing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214: Severing
The battle continued.
Merciless and overwhelming.
The moment the creature assumed its true form, an onslaught of attacks, incomparable to before, rained down.
Giant blades of steel, so sharp they could shatter my dragon scales with a mere touch.
The biggest problem was that the scope of its attacks wasn't limited to me.
They were fired indiscriminately and wide, aimed at everyone on the battlefield.
“Keng!”
One by one, the wolves found themselves trapped in ice.
“Grroooowwwl…”
Even the bicorns staggered, their massive bodies faltering.
The Snake Queen and Argentavis were not faring well either.
I tried my best to counter using the Power of Wood, but there was no way Wood could overcome Metal.
Argentavis could no longer fly, and even the Snake Queen’s once-beautiful scales were all ruined.
Wringing out my last bit of strength, I surrounded their bodies with giant plants.
These vines might not mean much against Gongbok.
But they were effective in restraining the injured Snake Queen and Argentavis.
CRASH!
THUD!
I heard them thrashing about inside, but they soon grew quiet, perhaps realizing that breaking free would only cause me greater harm.
“My companion…”
Only the Snake Queen’s mournful voice could be heard.
If I hadn't done this, she would have charged at Gongbok until her very end.
Rushing at that monster without a proper plan would be nothing more than throwing her life away for no reason.
“…Finally, all the pests are gone.”
Gongbok’s silver eyes turned to me.
Right.
It was mistaking me for someone else.
And it seemed only interested in fighting me.
It had attacked the others simply to keep them from interfering.
“Grrrrr…”
“O, True Dragon. It is almost time. The day your son surpasses you and obtains the Yeouiju.”
Gongbok still mistook me for Jin-ryong.
I had given up on defeating it long ago.
All I could do was draw its attention.
Its area-of-effect attacks didn't distinguish between friend and foe, so the enemy’s condition wasn't much better than ours.
This meant that even if my followers fled, there would be few left to pursue them.
If the Red Dragon could defeat Ak Bulhwi or at least force him off the battlefield for a moment, if Baek Rang and the Iron Head Dragon froze the ground to cover our retreat, and if the Snake Queen and Argentavis created an opening, everyone could survive.
Yes.
I had to focus.
I couldn't despair just because the enemy was strong.
I am the divine beast of the Gaegaek, and I have a duty to save everyone.
As I thought this, my eyes fell upon Baek Rang.
She was trapped in the ice I had created as a final precaution.
“Keeeek…”
“Kiiioong…”
The spiders frantically shook the unconscious Tang Soyeong with their short arms.
…
This was the future I had seen.
The future I had sworn to change.
But then, why?
—Did you think changing fate would be so simple?
The Heart Demon spoke to me.
—Pitiful, so very pitiful.
It spoke as if it knew this would happen.
—The Gongbok you saw in the future certainly didn't use the Power of Metal.
It sounded as if it had just witnessed a rather amusing spectacle.
—So why is it now using the Power of Steel to crush you all?
—That's what you're thinking, isn't it?
It wasn't exactly the same as the future I had seen.
They were still breathing, and the Red Dragon had not yet been defeated.
But I couldn't think of this as the future having changed.
It was just that… we hadn't reached that future yet.
—A predictable story, so very predictable.
—Such is fate.
—A mere mortal cannot defy destiny, no matter how they struggle.
I could hear the Heart Demon’s laughter.
—Khah, khahahahat!
Time began to slow, as if it had stopped.
—Do you hate fate?
It whispered to me in a sweet voice.
—Do you hate those who did this to your followers?
—Thanks to your pointless efforts to save your followers, none have died yet… but what good is that?
—If you are defeated, they are all fated to die anyway.
It was right.
With even Baek Rang in that state, I wouldn't be able to achieve my goal of evacuating everyone.
If I lost, all my followers would die.
Just like in the future I glimpsed.
—But, there is one thing left.
The Heart Demon’s voice tickled my ear.
—My offer from back then is still valid.
It repeated the words it had spoken when I saw the future.
—Here, take my hand.
—Only I can help you.
It was such a sweet proposal.
If I took the Heart Demon’s hand, couldn't I save all my followers?
—Offer me your flesh, and I will kill the child of the dragon for you.
Yes.
If I handed my body over to the Heart Demon… I might be able to do something.
—I will carve into their very bones the meaning of true fear.
If it was to save my followers…
What wouldn't I do?
I was on the verge of accepting the Heart Demon’s offer.
Thump.
A small object flew toward my head.
Wrapped in spider silk, it fell immediately to the ground.
The moment I saw what it was, the time that seemed to have stopped began to flow rapidly again.
“…Trust.”
The one who threw it was Nephila.
Wrapped in her silk was a very familiar green object.
Yes.
It was a tail.
The tail I had given Nephila when I left her.
My tail from when I was a gecko.
Seeing it, I was able to regain some of my senses.
—Pay it no mind. To change fate is to go against reason. Only I can…
CRRRRRACK!
SQUELCH!
I tore off my own tail with my claws.
“Ghh, gggghhhhk!”
I knew that without pain this intense, I wouldn't be able to break free from the Heart Demon.
Blood dripped to the ground.
Even Gongbok, who had been staring at me silently, looked a little surprised.
The Heart Demon’s voice that had been ringing in my ears was gone.
“Grrrrr…”
Fate cannot be defied.
That’s what the Heart Demon had told me.
A lizard that should have been eaten by an Oviraptor escaped from it.
A spider that had merely ruled a single tree evolved into an Arachne.
The powerless spider sisters, starving in a swamp, also met me.
And Tang Soyeong, who was fated to be eaten by a Dilophosaurus, was able to live.
Fate cannot be defied.
No, I have defied fate time and time again.
I didn't even have the strength to move, but my mind was clearer than ever.
[Using 「Reverse Scale LV5」.]
Just by activating Reverse Scale, I coughed up blood.
But I couldn't give up.
I had to defy this fate, no matter what.
[Temporarily acquiring 「Dragon's Word LV0」.]
The skill I brought forth was Dragon's Word.
But I didn't have enough resources and couldn't copy it completely.
Even when I struggle this desperately, is this my predetermined fate?
…
Who dares decide my fate?
[Using 「%! Sev■□ LV2」.]
CR-CR-CR-CRACK!
[「Yeouiju」 reacts to 「Dragon's Word LV0」.]
[The level of 「Dragon's Word LV0」 is temporarily increased.]
Scraping the very bottom of my reserves, I finally succeeded in copying Dragon's Word.
I could feel the sacred aura of a dragon enveloping my entire body.
That creature had used Dragon's Word to cover its body in steel.
If that form was created by Dragon's Word, then piercing it would also require Dragon's Word.
So, what words should I speak?
How can I break through it?
“My flesh.”
What I needed was a weapon to shatter that thing, no matter what.
A weapon to replace my broken claws, a deadly instrument that could pierce its dragon scales.
“Become a single sword.”
The form of my severed tail began to change.
Its basic frame remained, but it took the shape of a greatsword.
What that creature made with Dragon's Word was armor.
What I made with Dragon's Word was a single sword to pierce that armor.
What could possibly change now that a lizard who has never even held a sword decides to wield one?
One might think it's just a pointless struggle.
After all, what I had trained in all this time wasn't the motion of swinging a sword.
‘If you awaken Sword Aura, you can easily cut through rock.’
Even when my Master taught me about Sword Aura, she taught me how to swing my claws, not a sword.
‘A Peak Realm martial artist can usually be distinguished by whether they have awakened Sword Aura or not.’
But what did that matter?
My Master had manifested Sword Aura by simply holding a single tree branch.
‘As you advance to the Profound Realm, you can stretch your Sword Aura like thread and wrap it around your weapon. It's hazy like mist, but it requires enough internal energy to be visible to the ordinary eye.’
What she showed me then was Sword Flux.
I could see Sword Aura with my own eyes, but Sword Flux was on another level.
Contrary to her description of it as "hazy," I could see the threads of incredibly distinct Sword Aura.
‘Since I've shown you Sword Flux… it would be right to show you the next stage as well.’
After speaking so casually, my Master showed me an enchanting sight I could never forget.
A beautiful blade, a mixture of black and blue.
An elegant form reminiscent of the Milky Way in the night sky.
‘This is Sword Force. Only when you can wield Sword Force at will can you be said to have entered the Transformation Realm.’
My Master’s Sword Force sliced through steel as if it were tofu.
‘There is also a separate state called Mind-Sword Union. This cannot be explained with words… What are you doing? Get into your stance.’
The sword now before me was made from my own flesh.
Therefore, despite its unfamiliar shape, it felt incredibly familiar.
Though I was holding it for the first time, I had reached a state of union.
I focused my mind.
I had no resources left to use, but strangely, my body felt no strain.
Wooooong.
The Fox Marble trembled lightly.
What I was holding.
What I had to do.
I knew it all instinctively.
A blue Sword Aura enveloped the sword.
The aura soon transformed into thin, fine lines.
The threads of Sword Flux that were formed began to condense.
A blue Sword Force was layered over the black sword.
This sword was the weapon that would sever the fate that stood in my way.
Severing fate—my past self would have called it empty talk.
Even if I had understood the meaning, I would have thought it impossible.
But the moment I held this sword in my hand, I attained a single enlightenment.
「%! Sev■□ LV2」
The true name of the skill I had resented for days on end.
「Fate Severing LV2」
Yes.
All this time, what I had been severing was not my tail, but my fate.
