Chapter 80
Chapter 80
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Misunderstanding
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ataraxia was no ordinary dragon.
She was a member of the "Despair" clan, which ruled over the highest echelons of dragonkind.
The dragon race, hailed as the strongest of all species.
And among them, she was one of the chosen.
Moreover, Ataraxia was scheming to ignite a new war between the Abyss and all other races for the sake of dragonkind's dominion.
By borrowing the power of the "Black Witch," mistress of chaos.
And at present, Ataraxia had been entrusted with a crucial mission by the "Black Witch."
—Adora has awakened "Wish." Bring it to me, along with the "Star of Pride."
Wish, and the Star of Pride!
Names that even the Twelve Races and the lords of the Abyss dared not ignore.
Especially the "Wish" that Adora had awakened—it was akin to the origin of magic itself, drawing Ataraxia's keen interest.
A witch, not a dragon—the sovereigns of magic—had awakened it.
Adora, the Witch of Death.
Who could have imagined her talent ran so deep?
'So that's why the Black Witch tried to make Adora the Lord of Pride?'
Ataraxia was well aware of Adora's existence.
However, unlike other witches, Adora had grown up in isolation.
It seemed all the witches shunned her simply for wielding "death," keeping her at arm's length.
'...No. They hid her on purpose from the start. Her talent.'
That wasn't it.
The Black Witch had deliberately kept Adora hidden.
Adora had likely been groomed from the beginning to serve as the "Lord of Pride."
After all, the Black Witch was pouring everything into resurrecting the Lord of Pride.
The king of all falsehoods.
If that illusory monster returned, the balance of the Abyss could shatter.
Even the great Nine Lords might have cause for unease.
But the Black Witch's plan had failed.
Adora had awakened Wish and destroyed the Tower of Pride with her own hands.
'Adora has an accomplice. The one who toppled the tower. Probably a human.'
She hadn't done it alone, that much was certain.
The Black Witch's schemes were as intricate as a spider's web.
They ensnared you without you even realizing it.
There had to be an accomplice.
Since the tower on Earth had collapsed and vanished, it had to be a human.
Only the human challengers on Earth could bankrupt Earth's tower.
'Couldn't track Adora's whereabouts. But the human's trail... I could follow.'
The problem was that no matter how hard they searched, Adora's location remained a mystery.
Even Ataraxia, a dragon, should have sensed the traces if Wish had awakened.
She must have used the Black Witch's "pinky finger" to erase them perfectly.
Ataraxia gave up on finding Adora and focused entirely on hunting the accomplice.
She judged that the priceless treasure, the "Star of Pride," would be with them.
'Both Wish and the Star of Pride are effectively in that accomplice's possession.'
The accomplice would know Adora's location.
Capture the accomplice, and both prizes were hers.
Thus, Ataraxia boldly entered the "Second Night."
Convinced the human accomplice was here.
And if they were, they'd surely stand out.
'...Found you.'
Her hunch proved right.
The human accomplice was indeed here.
Utterly distinct from the other humans in aura.
Aheta was deploying doppelgangers against that human precisely because they were trying to seize her territory.
How astonishing.
Triggering a "Legendary Quest" in just the Second Night!
The humans Ataraxia had observed were all pathetic.
Worms fated to vanish like morning dew in the impending "Racial War."
Yet there was an exception.
A human who sought paths no one else would and accomplished the impossible.
Well, that was the caliber needed to conquer the "Tower of Pride."
Of course, she didn't confirm them as the accomplice based on actions alone.
There was another reason Ataraxia pegged that human as the accomplice.
'A human bearing the aura of the Lion King and the blessings of the goddess.'
Stronger backing than expected.
Auras of monsters that even most Creators couldn't dream of, coexisting within.
From utterly opposing, clashing powers, no less—both lending their names.
And that wasn't all.
'......Traces of Wish.'
Faint, but the aura of "Wish" lingered.
Not the full essence, more like an afterecho...
Undoubtedly the human accomplice who was near Adora when she awakened Wish.
That explained the lingering resonance.
"What are you talking about?"
Lee Hyuk-soo scowled at Ataraxia's demand.
He'd never heard of the Star of Pride or Wish.
The sudden order to hand them over was utterly absurd.
"Playing dumb, as expected. Adora's accomplice."
Ataraxia sneered.
Convinced Lee Hyuk-soo was lying.
But his reaction seemed utterly genuine, no matter the angle.
"...Are you insane?"
Adora?
If she meant the Witch of Death from the Tower of Pride, they'd gotten the wrong guy entirely.
Lee Hyuk-soo had never even climbed the Tower of Pride.
This was either a madman or someone lost in delusion.
"If you won't hand it over, I'll just take it."
Ataraxia, meanwhile, was utterly relaxed.
Though limited in power by entering as a human and shapeshifting, she was still a dragon.
The way she wielded and optimized mana was worlds apart, even with equal amounts.
Convinced this human was the accomplice, she had to seize the Star of Pride and Wish.
"Winds, rage wildly."
Whiiiiiing!
It happened in that instant.
Fierce gales surged toward Lee Hyuk-soo.
Her true form could cast spells without incantations or gestures, but here, disguised among humans, she was restricted to their level.
Exceeding that would draw Aheta's gaze.
And if she revealed her true form? The Abyss lords would protest, and she'd be ostracized from dragon society instantly...
'Sufficient.'
This was more than enough.
It overflowed.
Slash!
Slaaaash!
As proof, Lee Hyuk-soo's body kept getting sliced open.
The winds were precisely controlled by Ataraxia's mana.
Trapped in the blades of wind, he couldn't move easily.
Instead, "Shadow Asphyxiation" lashed out from the Greatsword of the Lion King.
Hwooooaaah!
Shadow Asphyxiation ignored the winds entirely.
Black currents and the skull shapes within charged madly at Ataraxia.
'A spell with compound effects. Inherited the Lion King's power?'
She knew the Lion King well.
One of the ancient beings who once threatened the Abyss lords long ago.
A survivor of a perished race, not one of the Twelve.
His magic all bore "compound effects."
And to counter compound effects? Use another compound spell.
"Earth, rise. Flames, cling."
Ataraxia blended two spells.
Earth rose into a barrier, overlaid with fire.
The wall blocked the asphyxiating skulls, while the flames burned away the shadows.
'He doesn't yet wield the Lion King's power properly...'
If he did, this spell wouldn't hold.
Thus, Ataraxia deemed him inexperienced.
Slaash!
In that split second.
Sudden pain made Ataraxia grimace.
Her side had been pierced.
Silently, stealthily.
'...Hid within the shadows?'
She thought she'd blocked it.
Thought she'd incinerated it.
But that wasn't all.
Lee Hyuk-soo had concealed himself inside the shadows.
An application of the Lion King's magic.
After his enlightenment, hiding in shadows had become second nature.
Whoooosh!
Black mana surged like Ataraxia's wings, enveloping her body.
Lee Hyuk-soo had no choice but to retreat hastily.
Instinct screamed that getting caught would mean no escape.
'Not bad.'
Ataraxia was genuinely impressed.
This accomplice human had impressive mana sensitivity.
But that was the end of it.
Fall for it once—fine.
Twice? Never.
"Blackened thunder, strike like despair."
She was of the "Despair" clan.
Invoke their name in the incantation, and the destructive power doubled.
It became despair incarnate.
Since he'd approached so close, evasion was impossible.
Ataraxia's black mana shot skyward.
Empowered further, it summoned cataclysm in the name of despair.
'...Can't dodge.'
Lee Hyuk-soo furrowed his brow.
A foe of this type, unseen before.
He'd never faced an enemy who manipulated magic so fluidly; no countermeasures came to mind.
Undodgeable.
This spell was the real deal.
Like a prophet's magic.
Rumble.
Kabooooom!
Black lightning began swirling from the heavens.
Soon, it converged on Lee Hyuk-soo's position.
"......Hm?"
......Ataraxia tilted her head.
The spell bearing Despair's name had been nullified.
Impossible, even with her mana restricted.
Dragons were the sovereigns of magic.
No other race's spells could ever block theirs.
Yet it was blocked.
By the "same spell."
"Heavenly Punishment?"
It was unmistakably the lightning spell "Heavenly Punishment."
Someone had cast it silently, vaporizing Ataraxia's magic.
But who?
'......There's another one.'
She realized it then.
The moment the spells canceled, she knew instinctively.
Someone was right beside her.
Watching silently, without revealing themselves.
She hadn't noticed.
Not a clue.
To conceal their presence so perfectly from her eyes!
Park Chan-woo.
He finally revealed himself.
'Wait...'
Ataraxia turned to the newcomer.
"......!"
She gasped in shock.
The gear on this new figure was no joke.
Especially the staff and a few others—they were top-tier, world-class.
But that wasn't why she was stunned.
'Adora's accomplice...'
The moment he appeared, the echo of Wish intensified.
This human was Adora's accomplice.
He'd hidden behind the one using Lion King magic.
But even that...
......Wasn't the true reason for her shock.
The real cause of Ataraxia's astonishment.
It was unbelievable.
Impossible to accept.
And why?
Because that human was...
"......Dragon God... Sepiro?"