Chapter 378: Dawn (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 378: Dawn (6)
Kang Hyun-woo's face went pale as he watched Zerkishinia soar across the night sky.
Though it was now a beautiful island where the Duke of Winchester's mansion stood, Avalon had originally been an S-rank gate conquered by the first King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
It was only natural that its exit was large enough for a massive magical beast to pass through without issue.
The problem was what lay beyond it.
The gate's exit was connected to the basement of the Blue Magic Tower, and above it lay the city of London, home to millions of people.
If Zerkishinia escaped the gate, the great catastrophe that had occurred in Northern Ireland fifty years ago would undoubtedly repeat itself.
Of course, London now had the Duke of Winchester and the Duke of Rutland, two ultimate weapons standing by, so there was a high chance the damage wouldn't be too severe.
But even if those two combined their strength, subjugating such a monster in a short amount of time was next to impossible.
If it were possible, parts of Africa, South America, and Asia would never have fallen into the clutches of magical beasts.
Moreover, even if they did succeed in taking it down quickly, it was as clear as day that the process would result in catastrophic damage.
At least thousands, if not tens of thousands, would die.
He had to prevent that, no matter what it took.
But how?
“...Dammit.”
Kang Hyun-woo gritted his teeth.
Even if he were in perfect condition, it would have been impossible for him to buy time against that dragon.
He wasn't strong enough to face an S-rank gate's boss without the Devil Slayer's blessing.
The thought of asking Sir Gawain, who was back at the banquet hall, for help crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head.
While Gawain was undeniably the strongest knight of the Round Table, at night, without the sun, he was only at the level of an A-rank hunter.
More importantly, by the time he ran back to the hall, Zerkishinia would have already left Avalon.
Kang Hyun-woo swallowed dryly.
Of course, it wasn't as if he had no options at all.
He could go to another world, recover his body, and build up his strength until he could hunt the dragon. That way, he could resolve the situation without a single casualty.
But he couldn't even begin to guess how much time it would take for him to become strong enough to defeat an S-rank gate boss on his own.
Besides, the time he could stay in another world was, at most, two months.
Even including the worlds of Iris, Cheon Yeo-hwa, and Lucifer, it meant he only had half a year.
A question arose in his mind.
Could I really grow strong enough to face a monster like that in just six months?
He couldn't give a rash answer right now.
If he ran out of time, he would have to keep matching, and his connections with other women would continue to grow.
If he had to help them each time, it would only cause further delays.
But right now, there was no other way—
“At this rate, London will...!!”
At that moment, Delia, looking up at the sky with a worried expression, entered his field of vision.
To be precise, his gaze fell upon the holy sword hanging at her waist.
Realistically, it was impossible for the battered Kang Hyun-woo and Delia, who was no stronger than an average hunter, to defeat Zerkishinia.
But with Excalibur, one of the most powerful holy relics, the fight wasn't necessarily impossible.
Because there's a world of difference between zero percent and 0.1 percent.
“Delia.”
“Y-Yes? Ah! U-Uh, yeah!”
Kang Hyun-woo suddenly leaned in close to Delia's face.
She couldn't help but be flustered by his sudden action.
But that was only for a moment. With him close enough for her to feel his breath, Delia forgot how to breathe.
Her pupils trembled faintly.
Her face, which had been deathly pale, was now flushed bright red.
Delia, who had been avoiding his gaze, finally seemed to make a decision. She lowered her head slightly and muttered quietly.
“...N-Not right now, it's a little—”
“You're the only one who can defeat that dragon.”
“...What?”
Delia froze at his words.
His statement was no different from telling a newborn baby to go fight a tiger that had been starving for days.
Thinking she must have misheard, Delia cautiously looked at Kang Hyun-woo, but his expression was more serious than ever.
“A-Are you being serious...?”
“I'm not thoughtless enough to joke in a situation like this. And I'm not crazy enough to force someone to do the impossible.”
Kang Hyun-woo pointed at Excalibur.
“I'll create the opportunity. All you have to do is land one good hit on that ridiculously oversized lizard.”
“...”
Delia's lips parted silently.
Normally, he would have waited until she was ready, but right now, every second counted.
Thump!
“Lia.”
Kang Hyun-woo grabbed Delia's shoulders.
At the warmth from his hands and his intense gaze, her body began to tremble pitifully.
“I'm sorry... I can't do it...”
In the end, Delia lowered her head.
The words tumbled out, thick with guilt.
“It's been five years since I, a mere country girl, became a member of the Round Table... but in all that time, the holy sword has never once responded to my call. Not even when I was about to be killed by that man earlier...”
Excalibur's protective barrier had shielded Delia from Van Kruger's attack, but that was more like an automatic activation of an ability engraved on the sword.
It was similar to how the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword had clung to a corpse and absorbed its demonic energy without Kang Hyun-woo's intent.
The act of awakening a holy relic's will consumed the owner's magic and mental strength with every attempt.
Despite that, for the past five years, Delia had called upon the holy sword every single day, multiple times a day.
But not once had it ever answered her call.
“...So I'll fail this time, too.”
“It doesn't matter.”
“Huh?”
Kang Hyun-woo forced a smile, trying his best to ignore the pain coursing through his body.
“First, I should apologize. I didn't mean to pressure you.”
There was no time.
Zerkishinia was flying towards the exit at this very moment.
Even so, Kang Hyun-woo didn't rush Delia.
No matter how this ended, he wanted to avoid placing the weight of countless lives on her slender shoulders.
Even if thousands, or tens of thousands, died as he predicted, it wouldn't be Delia's fault.
No one had the right to force another to make a sacrifice.
“I think I got carried away and wasn't thinking straight. Even if we don't step in, the Duke of Winchester and the Duke of Rutland are outside the gate anyway.”
Kang Hyun-woo smiled gently and patted Delia's head.
In his agitation over the suddenly appearing dragon, he had forgotten that Delia was only twenty-one.
He had been through hell and back and had been stabbed a few times, but Delia hadn't.
Just a few dozen minutes ago, she had almost died.
To think he had tried to burden Delia, who was still trembling from the fear of death, with the duty of protecting a city of millions—he must have been well and truly insane.
“...I know this might sound insincere now, but I don't want you to have any regrets.”
“Regrets...?”
Although they hadn't known each other for long, he knew Delia's personality. If Zerkishinia escaped Avalon and started killing people in London, she would definitely feel guilty.
Even more so if the death toll reached the thousands or tens of thousands.
Kang Hyun-woo took a step back and held out his hand to Delia.
His hand, covered in wounds, was rough and calloused.
“There's a world of difference between never swinging your sword and swinging it just once. Why don't you trust me and give it one swing? It's better than just standing by and doing nothing, right?”
“...”
Delia stared blankly at his hand.
Then, she quietly took it.
She was no longer trembling.
A flame, faint yet burning brightly, flickered in her eyes.
*
Kang Hyun-woo smiled in satisfaction as he looked at Delia, whose entire demeanor had changed.
He then asked her for Excalibur and took it.
Ting!
[Acquiring information on a new item.]
[Excalibur]
Grade: Holy Relic
A holy sword (聖劍) forged from the starlight of sacred radiance.
Its light repels all evil (魔).
It absorbs the power of the stars to form a protective barrier around its wielder.
※Currently sealed.
It was just as he'd expected.
He had heard that Excalibur was a holy sword that shone brighter than the sun, but Delia's Excalibur was a dark black sword reminiscent of obsidian.
Kang Hyun-woo quickly explained the conditions for unsealing it to Delia.
Fortunately, no complex preparations were needed.
“...How do you know that?”
“I just happen to know a lot of things.”
His words lacked credibility.
He wasn't an exceptional blacksmith, nor was he a member of the Round Table.
There was no reason for a mere foreigner like him to know about Excalibur's seal.
But Delia didn't press further.
Right now, she was willing to believe him even if he told her that jellied eels were delicious.
Thump.
Kang Hyun-woo collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes.
He had just consumed every elixir and magic recovery potion he had for research purposes.
Thanks to that, he was able to press his acupoints to forget the pain and recover a small amount of magic.
Of course, his body was still a wreck.
He could barely move properly, and it was obvious he would collapse from exhaustion after just a few spells.
But for now, that was enough.
Wooooong—
A magic circle materialized on the ground, centered on Kang Hyun-woo.
Just forming the circle made him feel as if his magic circuits would reverse their flow, but he suppressed it with his magic power.
It was an act no different from paying off debt with more debt—a shortcut to ruin—but Kang Hyun-woo didn't hesitate.
Since he was already pushing himself this far, he might as well see it through to the end.
[Thought Transcendence]
[Multitasking Thought]
Drip—
The moment he activated the skills to buy even a little time, dark red blood trickled from between his eyes and lips.
It was a precursor to mana reversal.
Still, Kang Hyun-woo paid it no mind.
Time, compressed to its absolute limit, began to flow slowly, and his consciousness split into three.
Fwoosh!!
The mana in the atmosphere reacted to Kang Hyun-woo's magic, emitting a faint light that illuminated the surroundings.
He was opening his astral plane to resonate with the natural mana, a way to supplement his own depleted reserves.
It was a method strictly forbidden in the magic world, as it completely disregarded the caster's safety.
“It's beautiful...”
Delia stared blankly at the sight of the ambient mana gathering around Kang Hyun-woo.
It looked like a meteor shower.
Immediately after, space began to distort.
This was a 6th Circle spell, much like the 'Electria' he had used earlier. It was a magic that normally required the assistance of the six rings to be cast properly.
But Kang Hyun-woo had broken that rule twice, and the price was his to bear.
A load incomparable to when he calculated magic of the 5th Circle or below was placed on his entire mana circle and magic circuits.
Nevertheless, Kang Hyun-woo glared at the black dragon gliding through the night sky and completed the spell.
Fshaaa—!!!
[Teleportation]
The moment a pure white flash enveloped their vision, the surrounding scenery changed in an instant.
The vast night sky felt far too close.
No, it was close.
They were hundreds of meters in the air.
On Zerkishinia's back.
Whoooosh!!
“Aahk?!”
Suddenly, a tremendous gust of wind blasted them, sending Kang Hyun-woo and Delia flying backward.
Kang Hyun-woo desperately grabbed Delia's wrist and clung to a scale protruding from the dragon's back.
Crack!!
“Kugh?!”
A strange sound came from his arm and shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and pulled Delia up.
He couldn't hold on like this for long.
“Th-Thank... you...”
Saved from being blown away, Delia blushed slightly as she clung to a scale with one hand.
In any case, they had overcome the immediate crisis, but just staying like this wouldn't solve anything.
Kang Hyun-woo swallowed a mouthful of blood and cast a spell.
[Traction]
It was a 1st Circle common magic that maximized the coefficient of friction with a surface, allowing one to stand steadily anywhere.
Kang Hyun-woo let go of the scale and slowly stood up.
Seeing this, Delia carefully followed suit.
They still had to crouch low against the wind, but at least it didn't feel like they would be blown away like before.
“Lia.”
At the sound of her name, Delia turned her head to look at Kang Hyun-woo.
His face was so pale it looked bloodless, but his eyes were unwavering.
A brief silence hung between them.
Delia steeled her resolve and gripped the hilt of her sword.
The moment she thought the sword felt strangely light.
Spurt!!
“?!”
Something erupted from Zerkishinia's back.
The two of them whipped their heads around and were struck speechless.
The face that had appeared before them was all too familiar.
“...Tristan?”
“S-Sir Tristan...?”
It was Tristan, in a hideous state, his entire body sprouting tentacles, his very form twisted and distorted.
“K-Kang Hyun-woo...!!!”