Chapter 216: The Dragon That Shatters Fate
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 216: The Dragon That Shatters Fate
My sword pierced through Gongbok's scales with surprising ease.
The damage was likely amplified because I had neutralized the bundle of thorns he'd unfurled at the last moment.
He had tried to block my approach by transforming his dragon scales into thorns, which must have weakened their defensive strength.
Thanks to the Red Dragon's support, I was able to strike that weakened spot directly.
"Gah, khhhk..."
Gongbok coughed up blood.
"Guh..."
I, too, let out a ragged breath.
My whole body refused to obey me.
It was only natural.
I had already suffered fatal wounds even before manifesting the Sword Flux. On top of that, I had taken countless direct hits after manifesting it, causing me to lose too much blood.
I couldn't even use the Soaring Dragon's Heavenly Steps and had no choice but to foolishly endure the blows.
It was a miracle my hand hadn't lost its strength at the final moment.
"Impressive..."
Gongbok was still breathing.
Even though I'd dealt a fatal blow, it was just a single strike. If he decided to struggle in his death throes, he could still rampage as much as he wanted.
I had to finish him off, one way or another.
"There's no need... With a wound like this... there's no way I can survive..."
Was he saying that to make me lower my guard?
It was a natural suspicion, but for some reason, I felt I could believe his words.
His voice held the intuition of a man facing his end. And I could see the will to no longer resist.
"Gomodo... To think I would get to see that ancient being..."
And I might be able to get some information from this dying creature. As a being who had lived for over several hundred years, he might spit out information of a different caliber.
Like the locations of the other Nine Sons of the Dragon, or a way to reach the True Dragon.
"You may not be able to wield that Sword Flux freely yet, but for a brief moment... it was like seeing my father..."
Gongbok continued speaking, coughing up blood.
"Kkhhh... Yes, I have failed... but you will be able to succeed."
The hostility in Gongbok's eyes had completely vanished.
"In reaching my father, the True Dragon."
Was he asking me to achieve what he could not? Just moments ago, we were fighting to kill each other, and now he was the one on the verge of death.
"The True Dragon... He is known to the world as the most divine of spirit beasts. I, too, admired him."
On the verge of drawing his last breath, Gongbok began to tell his story.
He was born between a mother who was an essence of rock and a father who was the divine spirit beast, the True Dragon.
He said he trained relentlessly, wanting to become like his father.
But when he thought he had finally reached him, his father had already forgotten him and his mother.
When he, the illegitimate child, approached him, his father killed his mother.
"Truly... would a divine spirit beast commit such an act? No, it can't be. My father is not the being the world makes him out to be!"
Gongbok's emotions flared. He didn't even care that he was vomiting blood.
"Kkhk..."
This guy must have had his own story.
But that changes nothing.
The countless swordsmen of Mount Hua who fell here must have had their own stories, too.
Whatever those stories were, they weren't more important than my followers.
The only thing I could do was end his pain quickly.
Gongbok's weary eyes stared intently at me.
"...This is shameless of me, but could you grant me one request?"
I didn't answer, but Gongbok paid it no mind and continued.
"Kill my father, the True Dragon."
I hesitated to answer his shocking words.
I could understand what kind of grudge this guy held against the True Dragon. But at the same time, he admired the True Dragon.
And yet he was asking me to kill him.
"He is... by no means... a divine being... If my father is not stopped... a greater ruin will come, O Old Death with a Tail."
Phwak!
As I hesitated, he plucked out one of his own scales.
As if using Void Grasping, one of his scales flew toward me.
...To think he still had the strength to use Void Grasping, yet he gave up so meekly.
Why is he giving this to me?
"Go... to Chodo."
An unexpected name came up.
Chodo... wasn't she the master of another Dragon Gate and a member of the Nine Sons of the Dragon?
"Unlike my other brothers and sisters, you can trust him."
Is his mind wandering because he's on the verge of death? Why is he speaking as if he assumes I'll grant his request?
"...If you show him this token, he will cooperate with you."
His silver eyes stared into the void. The light in them was fading.
"What a shame. We did nothing but fight, yet I've ended up telling you things I never should have."
Kuuung.
His massive head touched the ground.
"If we had met as comrades-in-arms and fought the True Dragon together... it would have been quite fun."
I raised my claw.
Since he did give me information, I thought it was only right to end his suffering.
"Hahh... Yes, Namgung Yeon. If it weren't for that bastard..."
I stopped my claw at the name that followed.
It was a name I had heard several times since coming here.
A person who needed to be eliminated even before the likes of Ak Bulhwi or Gongbok.
I could tell he was painting a grand picture, but I couldn't figure out what he was moving for.
"Guh... You've been watching with a blank face all this time, but you finally react to this name."
Gongbok twisted his massive mouth slightly. It seemed to be his attempt at a smile.
"I, too, do not know what he is plotting... However, there is one thing I can tell you."
Paaaaat!
A dark red light enveloped Gongbok.
I knew instinctively.
This was something that bastard Namgung Yeon had prepared in advance. A measure to prevent his identity from being revealed.
"Khh, khahahak!"
Gongbok laughed loudly.
"Yes. I knew you'd do this."
He muttered while looking at the empty air.
Kwagagagagak!
Countless steel blades instantly drove away the dark red energy.
"Kggghhh..."
Gongbok groaned in pain.
Only then did I realize why he had given up on life while he still had some strength left.
He had intended to use that remaining strength to shake off Namgung Yeon's interference.
"Remember."
He even used the Dragon's Word, as if preparing for the possibility that my memory might be erased for some reason.
As if paying the price for using power beyond his limits, Gongbok's body turned translucent.
"Al-Yu. That is Namgung Yeon's real name."
Having said that, Gongbok threw himself onto my claw.
Phwaaaak!
Even without being clad in Sword Flux, it sank deep into his neck.
Gongbok's body trembled slightly, and then he closed his eyes for good.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
...
Countless messages flooded the status window.
I could tell that Gongbok was completely dead.
There was no time to mourn his death. In the past future, he was an enemy who had mercilessly killed my followers.
And right now, it was more important to check on my followers than to waste time on that.
My health had recovered, but moving wasn't easy.
Just as I was dragging my exhausted body to its feet...
Wooooong.
The Fox Marble spun round and round above Gongbok.
I wondered what it was doing, but I couldn't spare it much attention. I had to take care of my followers.
It was at that moment.
Paaaaat!
A purple radiance burst forth from the Fox Marble.
I felt a power stronger than any the artifact had ever shown before.
The radiance touched Gongbok's corpse, causing it to dissipate at an even faster rate than it already was.
Woooong.
"Gekgek!"
I jumped in surprise at its sudden, unexpected action.
What kind of grudge did this normally quiet thing have to do that to someone who was already dead?
I was about to give it a stern scolding.
Woong.
The slightly trembling Fox Marble approached until it was right in front of my nose.
Woooooooong!
It began to vibrate frantically.
...What's wrong with it?
Paat!
Then it suddenly stopped again.
Woooong!
It darted back and forth in front of me, indecisively.
It never used to act like this. Why the sudden change?
It's as if it's... someone else.
Wait, someone else?
I stared intently at it.
Then I heard something even more shocking than its earlier outburst.
"...What is this space?"
The tone was clearly Gongbok's. Even the feeling it gave off was his.
And yet, the voice that came out sounded somewhat... delicate.
*
Namgung Yeon closed his eyes.
"So... he twisted fate."
Gomodo and his followers all die.
That was the confirmed future.
No being, no matter who they were, could twist fate.
But an anomaly had occurred.
The law known as fate had been severed.
"Interesting. What on earth did he do to make Gongbok make such a choice?"
Gongbok lost to Gomodo.
It was an impossible event.
He had taken a critical hit, but he still had strength remaining. He wasn't the kind of creature to die just from having his neck slit.
And yet, Gongbok admitted defeat and accepted death.
He had even twisted Gongbok's fate.
"Letting my true name be known is a bit annoying, but it won't change anything."
His plans had failed time and time again.
But Namgung Yeon's expression wasn't dark. No, in fact, he even looked somewhat pleased.
"Khh, khahahahat!"
Namgung Yeon laughed maniacally.
"So he truly is the one from the prophecy."
A new Heavenly Demon will appear in the 100,000 Great Mountains.
Namgung Yeon had concluded that this being could be none other than Gomodo.
He was the one who had orchestrated numerous trials for him. He had induced contact with humans, used the rampage of the Gaechalgoatal, and even contacted Mount Hua and Gongbok to confirm a future where Gomodo would be destroyed.
But that lizard overcame every trial.
Namgung Yeon, no.
Al-Yu spoke in a voice filled with ecstasy.
"A dragon that shatters fate... Indeed, the name Crushing Dragon is not for nothing!"
He laughed like a madman. He laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.
"Old Death with a Tail... It won't be long now until a new evil, one that cannot even be compared to the likes of Tai Sui, is born."
The True Dragon known to the world is a being of absolute good.
In that case, wouldn't Gomodo, his opposite, be a being of absolute evil?
Al-Yu ran through countless calculations in his head.
What Gomodo lacked.
How he could complete his grand plan.
And, what methods he could use to corrupt Gomodo, who had not yet awakened to his true identity.
He was almost there.
If he made no mistakes, he would be able to turn Gomodo into a perfect evil.
The fact that Gongbok revealed his true name was a minor concern, but knowing just a name would change nothing. If Gongbok were still alive and could provide additional information, things might be different, but he had confirmed Gongbok's annihilation.
Alternatively, if the Heavenly Fox, said to be connected to the heavens, were to intervene, things could go awry, but the probability of him having a connection to such a being was close to zero.
Al-Yu was confident that there were no variables in his plan.