The Five Ends
The Five Ends
Lee Ha-yul craved an ideal physical body.
"Change."
Starting from the smallest unit. One by one.
How? By what method? Even though he couldn't properly wield the Authority of Knowledge, the specimens were piled high in his head.
Imitate. That was what Lee Ha-yul did best.
—Crack, cra-crackle—!
He began with his right arm. While the Tower Master of the Dead was briefly pinned by Three Ends, Lee Ha-yul's body began to change.
A stronger body. A harder body.
A body that could withstand enemy attacks with ease and sustain higher output.
Skeletal structure laid down solid. Muscle woven tough and limber.
Superhumans and monsters alike. He had encountered, observed, and fought so many living things.
Among them were the Tower Master of Purgatory and the Tower Master of Bitter Cold, who had descended as incarnations.
But physically, the mightiest was the Tower Master of the Dead.
The dragon that ruled the earth. An Earth Dragon that produced colossal strength. Its black scales were like nature's own ramparts.
Even a direct hit from the perfected Three Ends had only managed to tear off scales. That said it all.
In other words, it made for excellent reference material.
—Split, crackle...!
Scales sprouted densely over flesh. White scales wrapped around him like armor, gleaming translucent.
Wings surged upward as his body bulked.
He hadn't intended this.
But because the Earth Dragon was his template, perception shaped him that way.
Not a serpentine, elongated body. A trunk with arms and legs, more like a reptile.
—Grrrrrr...!
A white dragon wreathed in pure white scales.
—Crunch.
The Earth Dragon's muzzle twisted. Sharply bared fangs ground hard. The Earth Dragon let out a low, rumbling snarl.
The Earth Dragon, the Tower Master of the Dead, came from a world of dragons.
There was sea. There was earth. Life was born into and upon it.
Among them were the base Earth Dragons that crawled and burrowed through the soil, and the noble Heavenly Dragons that drifted leisurely through the sky.
The difference between the two was simple.
Birth.
Everything was determined at origin.
Some dragons were born Earth Dragons, crawling in the dirt. Others were born Heavenly Dragons, soaring freely through the sky.
This Earth Dragon could not bear that truth.
As a dragon, it longed to roam the heavens. So from the moment of its birth, the Earth Dragon did something called effort.
It crawled the earth, raised its rank, and cultivated its strength.
Decades. Centuries. More. It never ceased, not until the end of a dragon's long lifespan drew near.
'Why?'
It was impossible. An Earth Dragon could not become a Heavenly Dragon. The species you were born into, your Innate Talent, could not be so easily changed.
Even as the end of its years approached, the truth remained unchanged. The Earth Dragon despaired.
Great effort, deep longing, bred proportionally vast and violent despair.
It was then.
That it heard of a dragon who, through sheer luck, had become a Heavenly Dragon the very moment it was born.
'You...?'
It couldn't be borne.
A Heavenly Dragon through mere luck? That such worthless creatures were Heavenly Dragons, superior to itself?
Fangs that refused to endure tore into that Heavenly Dragon.
The Earth Dragon's reasoning proved correct. The Heavenly Dragon was weaker than the Earth Dragon. Yet it had strutted the sky, pretending to be noble.
From the moment that truth sank in, hesitation ceased.
The Earth Dragon chewed and swallowed the Heavenly Dragon it had killed.
With that, the Earth Dragon grew more unique. To become a Heavenly Dragon, it sought out and devoured others.
The Earth Dragon was strong.
Its fangs slew every last Heavenly Dragon, and in the end, it bit through the throat of the most ancient Heavenly Dragon.
—Wretched worm, the grudges of the Heavenly Dragons shall gather and bind you, and you shall never trespass upon the sky.
Restraint closed around the Earth Dragon's throat.
A constraint woven from the Thought Residue of the Heavenly Dragons. The Earth Dragon's body, which had spread its wings in exultation, was smashed back to the earth.
'How dare...'
Even after becoming the Tower Master of the Dead, it never fully lifted that curse.
The Tower Master of the Dead was still an Earth Dragon, unable to roam the sky.
No, it was even worse. The vile Heavenly Dragons' curse dragged the Earth Dragon down, preventing it by any means from belonging to the sky.
『How dare...!』
Eyes blazing with killing intent fixed on Lee Ha-yul.
Gleaming pure-white scales. Behind him, three pairs of beautiful five-colored wings spread, fluttering, lifting him into the sky.
What was that.
Lee Ha-yul was not a dragon.
Not even an Earth Dragon.
Yet here he was, born with fortunate qualities, mimicking a dragon as he pleased, spreading wings and rising into the sky.
『How dare! How dare, how dare, how dare...!』
It could not be borne.
For that moment, survival became an afterthought.
Tear the winged insect that dared profane the sky into shreds.
The Tower Master of the Dead, eyes rolling, wrenched its jaws open wide.
Mana and the dead swirled molten within its maw. The force fed by Thought Residue swelled violently.
『For the sin of transgressing the heavens, crawl the earth and die...!』
Hundreds of forked tongues sang resentment both pure and foul. Mana wrapped in Word Command erupted.
—Kwaaaaaaar!
Output of an entirely different order.
Before it, Lee Ha-yul the white dragon opened his small mouth. A three-colored Innate Talent coalesced, and he drew a thin line.
Kwaaaaah! The murky wave and Three Ends clashed. A taut stalemate held... then the wave was gradually pushed back.
Three Ends.
The Tower Master of the Dead knew that technique.
It was the technique that had finished off the temporarily controlled Twin-Headed Poison Dragon, and it had perceived it through Lee Ji-ah's shared memory and vision.
Three Ends was dangerous. That Three Ends even shredded and crushed an Earth Dragon's scales with contemptuous ease.
The Tower Master of the Dead wrenched its neck.
The deflected trajectory of Three Ends tore the empty sky to ribbons. The Dead Master, spewing torrents of blood, beat its wings.
—Crash!
'Kh...!'
At a speed that defied its immense bulk, the Tower Master of the Dead rammed into Lee Ha-yul.
Scales shattered under the brutal impact. Lee Ha-yul was flung violently backward.
A primitive body blow. But with the Earth Dragon's physical ability augmented by Word Command, the sheer force was enough to pulp a hardened body.
'I can endure.'
In his earlier child-like form, his body would have burst apart. But now, close-quarters combat was viable.
Beating his wings, Lee Ha-yul drove his hands and feet into the ground and arrested his momentum.
『────......!』
Instantly, the Tower Master of the Dead gave chase.
Its seven heads unleashed Word-Modified waves, while its real head shot forward like lightning, aiming for Lee Ha-yul's throat.
—Crunch!
Fangs broke through scales. Blood and searing pain gushed out.
The bulked body made evasion harder. In human form, that blow would be near-lethal, but he'd have dodged easily.
This was anticipated. Intended. Lee Ha-yul drew up his Innate Talent.
—Rumble!
The Tower Master of the Dead had not released its bite, but sheer force pushed it back.
Taesan's armor, rising thickly over the scales, pried the fangs away.
—Whooof!
Calamity Flame erupted from the engraved patterns of Taesan. The deadly wave aimed at Lee Ha-yul was swallowed by fire and annihilated. Flames melted the pitch-black scales.
—Get back.
Lee Ha-yul swung a foreleg.
Kwa-deuk! Claws layered with Aura and White Night shredded the cobbled-together undead neck and hammered down on the real one.
—Crush!
The claws broke through scales and sank deep, channeling Azure Sea energy. Crackle-crack! The water energy invading the wound froze, tearing it wider and anchoring the claws more firmly.
Lee Ha-yul gathered Three Ends at his mouth.
Before the shocked Tower Master of the Dead could wrench free, a sphere of Three Ends point-blank smashed into its throat.
—Kwuoooom!
『Cough, kaaak...!』
Crunch! Bleached white, the swelling Three Ends tore off scales and scooped out flesh.
Blood poured in a waterfall from a wound that looked bitten away. Surging shadow and Thought Residue settled into the wound.
—Crack, crackle!
Regeneration wasn't the end. A new throat erupted over the healing wound, coiling around Lee Ha-yul's foreleg and constricting viciously.
—Kwaaak... crack!
Giant Strength crushed Taesan and pulped scales. In the moment of weakened force, the Tower Master of the Dead broke free.
Having patched its newly torn throat, the Tower Master of the Dead radiated killing intent.
『─────────』
Seven heads and one head murmured a Word Command.
The spoken command clung to mana and instantly sublimated into phenomenon.
Simpler and more immediate than ordinary magic. Word Commands were inherently primal, but this Earth Dragon's were high-dimensional and intricate.
And fast. A single head had hundreds of tongues, so in a single breath, thousands of high-grade spells unfolded.
Lee Ha-yul's senses clearly felt the phenomenon.
Overwhelming, but not unanswerable.
Shing! Mana surged from his shoulders and back. Circuits branched like tree limbs, and those branches formed spell formulas.
Mana flowed. The countless spell formulas formed by the branches activated simultaneously.
The clashing spells burst apart. Particles of destroyed mana fluttered violently.
Word Command.
A dragon's Word Command at that.
This Word Command, faster, loftier, and more powerful than any supernatural ability, was being blocked by mere magic like that.
No, for a moment, the Word Command was being pushed back.
As the enraged Tower Master of the Dead poured out his Word Command with even greater ferocity, Lee Ha-yul spread his three pairs of wings wide.
*Fwoosh!* The Gale whipped up by his wingbeats swept across the sky.
The Word Command that had already spread across the heavens was caught in the Gale and scattered into disarray.
"What..."
That should have been impossible, but such common sense rarely applied to Lee Ha-yul.
Heavenly Thunder crackled inside Lee Ha-yul's mouth.
Heavenly Thunder-type Pseudo Expansion Ability
Clear Lightning Flash晴電一閃
- ───!
Triggered at point-blank range, the Clear Lightning Flash struck faster than perception. The Heavenly Thunder easily pierced through the scales and invaded the creature's body.
The lightning energy ravaging its body paralyzed its limbs and mind. The indiscriminately fired Word Command was also cut off. Lee Ha-yul did not miss the chance.
- *Vwooom...*
The Taesan shrouding his physical form crumbled, and the Calamity Flame died down. The Azure Sea rippling on his claws scattered.
Those three energies gathered at his jaws, swirling violently.
'More...'
He raised the output. His body was made for this. The Three Ends swelled further, compressed, and deepened in hue.
His jaw ached as if it were about to shatter. His head, trying to control it, felt like it was being ground into mush.
If he actually made even one mistake, that was exactly what would happen.
Naturally, he endured it.
Because Lee Ha-yul would do anything for the people he loved.
He would never, ever hesitate over such agony. In a situation where he might lose someone precious, putting his own life on the line was the bare minimum.
Having finally created an opening, he would inflict proper damage. He would shatter the monster's defenses head-on. He swelled the Three Ends, ready to accept any damage from the counterattack.
That was the moment he was about to execute it—
- *...Thump—!*
The sky trembled.
- *Thump—!*
It shook more violently than before. As a heavy vibration spread and shook the heavens, a crack suddenly spread across it.
"...Tch...!"
The Tower Master of the Dead, who had been erecting his defenses, let out an exclamation of dismay.
Lee Ha-yul's eyes widened at the sensation transmitted from beyond the crack.
- *Crack!*
Something broke through the fissure and jutted out.
An inverted pyramid. Its sharp tip pierced through the isolation like a stake.
The crack spread across the entire sky because of it. Soon, the pitch-black sky shattered and crumbled away. Beyond the fragments that had been the sky, a blue heaven spread out.
'Ah.'
A bright blue sky. A gigantic island floating conspicuously above the Tower Master of the Dead. The jewel-like pyramid shimmered, containing mana.
Lee Ha-yul knew what that was.
The Floating Island that hovered above Siyoram. For some reason, it had appeared now, in the sky, smashing through the Spatial Isolation.
'Huh?'
Someone leaped from that Floating Island towards the Tower Master of the Dead.
Not just one, but many. The first person to jump had golden hair fluttering behind her.
It was Atra.
'Ah...? Aaah...!?'
The moment Lee Ha-yul, shocked by the completely unexpected turn of events, tried to dispel the Three Ends—
—magic spilled from the underside of the Floating Island and clamped down on the Tower Master of the Dead.
No matter how advanced the magic was, it couldn't stop the Tower Master of the Dead from moving.
But making it falter for a moment was more than enough.
The descending Atra wrapped her fists and arms with the Winged Garment and clenched White Night with all her might.
*Fwoosh!* The radiance spilling between her fists lit up the sky brilliantly like the sun.
White Night Expansion Ability
Polar Night極夜
In an instant, that light dyed itself black, as dark as the night sky. As bright as the light had been, the inverted color was equally dark. The night sky condensed into a single point.
Her arm trembled from the staggering output. Clenching her teeth around the condensed White Night, Atra drove her fist down.
- *Crash!*
The pitch-black light punched a hole clean through the layered Word Commands.
With power still remaining, the White Night slammed down on the Tower Master of the Dead's head, and Hong Yeon-hwa and Liana, who had landed right behind her, aimed their mana through the gap.
Calamity Flame Expansion Ability
Flame Bloom開火
Hong Yeon-hwa poured out the viscous Calamity Flame gathered in both hands, while Liana closed one eye and aimed her index finger downward.
The hundreds of spirits that had appeared beside Liana unraveled their forms.
Only their pure energy gathered into a sphere before her fingertip, and as their attributes repeatedly enhanced one another, it swelled massively.
"Bang."
The Elemental Bullet left her fingertip and plummeted downwards.
Spirit Affinity Expansion Ability
Fusion Bombardment融合砲擊
- ──!!
A violent explosion resounded.
The scales crushed by Polar Night melted away, and the attribute bullets guided by the spirits burrowed between scale and wound and detonated.
"Grrk...!"
Normally, it would have been an attack he could easily brush off. But the scales, tattered and worn from accumulated damage, could not withstand it.
Breaking free from the brief restraint, the Tower Master of the Dead let out a roar.
A hint of Word Command could be felt.
Naturally, it was aimed at Atra and the others.
As if to reassure the horrified Lee Ha-yul, a single line of voice touched his mind.
- Do not worry.
'...!'
The source of the voice, simultaneously chilling and warm, was detected. A woman was standing at the edge of the Floating Island.
Her pure white hair fluttered softly along the currents of the wind.
From the clasped hands of the woman, Ariel, her Innate Talent bloomed forth.
Unique Magic Path - Final Snow Blossom終雪花
The mana, proliferated with spell formulas and Innate Talent, was dyed in pure white snow blossoms.
*Swish!* Chains woven from mana wrapped around the Tower Master of the Dead, and the stakes connected to the chains were driven into space, fixed in place.
This was the original source of the magic Lee Ha-yul had used to bind Baek A-rin last time.
- *Ding!*
Within his accelerated thoughts, a familiar alarm rang in Lee Ha-yul's ears. Several strings of text appeared in his blurry vision.
[The Tower Master of Harmonization... ]
[You lizard... brat...!]
[The Tower Master of Harmonization manifests Authority "Harmonization"]
[The Authority of Harmonization restores the connection]
[The Authority of Harmonization connects the "Tower of Knowledge" and the "Tower of Growth"]
While the text piled up, will-thought flowed out from the chains.
"Lose your form and scatter."
The will-thought shifted into a voice. A deep, profound voice tore through the Word Commands, and losing their structure, the Word Commands were scattered.
"Did you think we wouldn't prepare for this?"
Ariel sneered softly.
Of course, it wasn't a permanent solution. But just as before, it was only a matter of blocking him for a brief moment.
And indeed, within that brief moment, two women landed on Lee Ha-yul's head.
"Junior disciple, you really weren't human...!?"
"...You're Ha-yul, right?"
Daera and Lee Ha-sol. The manifestors of Heavenly Thunder and Gale. With a light bulb floating above his head, Lee Ha-yul sent them a sound transmission.
- Senior Daera, Lee Ha-sol. Please manifest your unique abilities with all your might.
It was a sudden sound transmission, but given the situation, the two did not question it and followed his instructions.
- *Crackle...!*
- *Whooong!*
Heavenly Thunder and Gale erupted above Lee Ha-yul's head. Unlike an imitation, these were Innate Talents that were firmly established.
'Just a moment will do.'
He didn't need them to fully take root. He would dye them with his own Innate Talent for just a very short time. It was practically deceit. He attached mana to the Heavenly Thunder and Gale.
- *Vwoom...!*
Success. The Heavenly Thunder and Gale came under Lee Ha-yul's command. They would break free over time, but this was enough.
He made Daera and Lee Ha-sol evacuate backwards, and then breathed the Heavenly Thunder and Gale into the condensed Three Ends.
- ─...──...──!!!
*Screeeech!* A sound difficult to describe flowed out. Space was torn apart and crushed, and the void was dyed in a gloomy hue.
Within that gloomy color, five Innate Talents went on a rampage like crazy.
Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, Taesan, Heavenly Thunder, and Gale.
- *Crunch...!*
His gaping mouth shattered. His teeth broke and fell out, and blood spurted from his torn jaw.
"Junior disciple!?"
"Ha-yul...!?"
The two people behind him were horrified.
Those pulling back from the distance with the help of Lady Ariel's Incarnation spell and the Wind Spirit were also shocked.
"......!?"
The Tower Master of the Dead, targeted by that colossal energy, must have been the most shocked of all.
The Tower Master of the Dead knew of the Three Ends. It was the Three Ends that had finished off the Twin-headed Poison Dragon and that Lee Ji-ah had witnessed.
However.
He did not know of the Five Ends, which had been tested in the Tower of Growth. Therefore, he had no idea that Lee Ha-yul possessed a means to annihilate the Tower Master of the Dead in a single blow.
- *Fwooosh...!*
Suddenly, particles of light settled onto the corners of his tearing mouth.
The light particles, split into two colors, gently boosted his body's recovery rate and accelerated the regeneration of urgent wounds.
Ellia's Recovery Melody.
Thanks to it, the strain was greatly eased. Lee Ha-yul, grinning impishly in his dragon form, opened his mouth.
"St...op."
- *Riiip!*
The forced phenomenon, tearing through Lee Ha-yul's throat, seized the Tower Master of the Dead who was trying one last desperate struggle.
The Tower Master of the Dead went rigid.
He couldn't move his body. He couldn't spit out a Word Command.
He couldn't resist a 'higher-ranked' Word Command.
'Die.'
Along with the manifestation of the Word Command, the Five Ends poised before his mouth were triggered.
The sound of the world was swallowed.
Perception was too late. The Five Ends五終, striking with the speed of Heavenly Thunder, devoured the Tower Master of the Dead.