Chapter 75 — There Was, But Now There Isn't
Chapter 75 — There Was, But Now There Isn't
Translation: GodTL
Bellium's Tears.
According to legend, when Bellium—the founder of Elysium—discovered the fallen warriors who had died defending this land, he shed tears. Those tears hardened and became what is now known as Bellium's Tears.
But legends are just legends.
Until now, the exact process of its creation had never been clearly revealed.
However, through research, one fact had been uncovered: Bellium's Tears contained an exceptionally pure essence of Dragon energy.
Regardless, due to its mythical origins and beautiful appearance, Elysium had preserved Bellium's Tears as a precious cultural relic.
But several hundred years ago, one of the three remaining Bellium's Tears was lost.
Given its historical significance, scholars of Elysium had spent centuries searching for it—and finally, after hundreds of years, they had found it.
Yet, before this priceless treasure could even return to Elysium, it was nearly stolen by an unknown Necromancer—
And now, at this very moment, it was being absorbed by Min-jun, a third party from who-knows-where.
"M-Min-jun?!"
"W-What the hell is happening?!"
The Necromancer. Adil, who had been captured by him. Even the escort party that had come to rescue him.
Everyone present could only stare blankly at Min-jun as he absorbed Bellium's Tears.
The moment the artifact was absorbed, Min-jun felt an uncontrollable surge of power flooding through him.
'This...'
He could sense it too.
The energy contained within Bellium's Tears was being drawn into him.
He didn't know the specifics, but he was aware that this relic held immense significance to Elysium.
So why was it being absorbed by him, of all people?
Everything was shrouded in questions—but before he could dwell on them, subduing the Necromancer took priority.
Only after dealing with that bastard and returning safely could he even begin to figure out the reason.
As the last remnants of Bellium's Tears were absorbed, a radiant halo began to spread behind Min-jun—and just as it started to fade, his Dragon Bone Sword began to glow brightly.
This wasn't the usual faint, dim aura.
Within the dark aura, a shimmering ring of light pulsed, sparkling like the Milky Way scattered across the night sky.
The moment the aura settled onto Min-jun's blade—
The Necromancer, who had remained composed and arrogant from the start, finally began to waver.
When he had first sized up their combat strength, he hadn't even considered the possibility of losing.
But now, seeing the aura coalescing around Min-jun's sword, his thoughts had completely changed.
"Now!"
Seeing the Necromancer falter at Min-jun's awakening, the previously demoralized escort party began to rally.
Assessing the situation, it seemed their best chance was for Min-jun to engage the Necromancer head-on.
In that case—
"Everyone except Min-jun—focus all efforts on holding back the undead!"
Their role was to ensure Min-jun could concentrate solely on eliminating the Necromancer without distraction.
Following Araven's command, Min-jun closed the distance between himself and the Necromancer under the escort party's cover.
Sensing the danger, the Necromancer yanked Adil—still bound—in front of himself, intending to use him as a human shield.
If he kept the hostage pressed against him, Min-jun would hesitate to attack.
But—
Without a moment's hesitation, Min-jun charged forward, closing the gap—and swung his sword without pause.
As the situation spiraled unpredictably, the Necromancer lost his grip on Adil.
Though the strike only left a shallow wound on the Necromancer's arm, it freed Adil in that brief moment.
Araven, who had been holding back the undead from the rear, swiftly pulled Adil to safety.
Once Adil was secure, Araven shouted—
"We'll protect Adil and Levi! Focus on your fight!"
Nodding, Min-jun channeled the full force of Dragon energy into his blade—and swung it in a devastating arc toward the Necromancer.
'Even a graze would be fatal.'
With no human shield left and the undead being suppressed by the others, blocking this attack would be impossible.
So, for now—dodging was the only option.
Though his pride was wounded, he had no choice but to consider the worst-case scenario—retreat.
As the Necromancer, who had been maintaining an aggressive stance, began to withdraw, Araven and the other mages—who had been fending off the undead—seized the opportunity to launch a surprise assault.
"Ghk!"
Though their attacks clearly landed, the Necromancer's movements didn't slow much, suggesting the damage wasn't significant.
Min-jun furrowed his brows.
There's no time.
Adil was one thing, but with wounded bleeding out, dragging this out would only make things worse.
From Min-jun's perspective, he wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible.
And to do that, the ideal solution was to deliver an overwhelming strike that would crush the enemy in one blow.
Is there no other way?
In that fleeting moment, the words Dragon Fear flashed through Min-jun's mind.
It wouldn't unleash the explosive power he had been considering earlier, but if it worked, it could paralyze both the undead and the Necromancer.
And in that split second of hesitation, they could all strike together—
—delivering a devastating blow.
But.
Can I even pull it off?
Having absorbed Bellium's Tears, he was undoubtedly stronger than before, so it wasn't impossible.
However, there was one variable—
—just how well he could control that energy.
Truthfully, though he wasn't showing it, Min-jun was struggling to rein in the Dragon's energy raging wildly inside him like an unbroken stallion.
The energy he had absorbed would surge uncontrollably before settling, only to erupt again in cycles.
There were too many uncertainties, and success wasn't guaranteed—but right now, this was the best option.
Recalling yesterday's sensations, Min-jun unleashed his killing intent toward the Necromancer with all his might.
But.
Whether Dragon Fear had failed to take hold or not, the Necromancer continued to widen the distance.
Did it fail?
Swallowing his frustration at the lack of effect, Min-jun realized—
He had successfully activated it, but the Necromancer was not only strong, Min-jun's own mastery over Dragon Fear was still too low for it to take hold.
But, looking at it another way—
Even with his current level of skill, wouldn't it still work on the countless undead?
The Dragon Feardid take effect on the undead within several hundred meters of Min-jun, freezing them in place with overwhelming terror.
That was enough.
The moment the undead stopped moving, most of the forces that had been holding them back swiftly regrouped and began pouring their attacks onto the Necromancer.
Now, not only was the Necromancer unable to properly control the undead within several hundred meters, but the escort party's relentless assault left him utterly bewildered.
He was already struggling just to deal with Min-jun—now, with the others joining in, it was overwhelming.
Even if it was only half a success, that Dragon Fear had completely turned the tide.
Min-jun continued to exert pressure by sustaining the Dragon Fear.
Because Bellium's Tears hadn't fully assimilated within him, the Dragon's energy inside Min-jun kept surging violently.
As a result, the power channeled into the Dragon Bone Sword fluctuated erratically—but it didn't matter.
The instant the sword was filled with the Dragon's energy at its peak—
Min-jun knew this would be the most devastating strike he had unleashed today.
With a slash that seemed to tear through the very fabric of space, the Necromancer met an anticlimactic end, his earlier arrogance rendered meaningless.
"...Hah."
Still unaccustomed to wielding his newfound power, Min-jun gasped for breath the moment the Necromancer fell.
Dropping to one knee, he steadied his breathing and scanned the surroundings.
The aftermath of the battle had turned the area into a wasteland, and the undead, now devoid of control, collapsed like marionettes with their strings cut.
"Once again, we are indebted to you."
As Min-jun caught his breath, Araven—the leader of the escort party—approached and knelt before him on one knee.
Following suit, the rest of the group (except for Levi, who was too injured to stand properly) knelt in gratitude.
And finally, Adil, dragging his battered body forward—
"To the great one, I offer my deepest respect!"
Just as countless soldiers of Elysium had done the day before, Adil—mistaking Min-jun for a Dragon—prostrated himself fully before him.
'Deja vu, is it?'
In the end, Min-jun once again had to explain to Adil that he wasn't the Dragon, just as he had done the day before.
Though they had all narrowly escaped death or severe injury due to the unidentified necromancer kidnapper, an unexpected variable had allowed them to overcome the crisis.
Adil had been rescued, and Levi, the only injured party, was fortunately in no life-threatening condition.
If things had ended there, one might have called it a happy ending.
'But it's impossible not to feel uneasy.'
Bellium's Tears. They had helped them survive the crisis, yet ironically, they had also caused a new problem.
Because I—unintentionally—absorbed them.
I truly hadn't meant to absorb them.
More than anything, this was the first time I'd even seen the thing—that said it all.
So now, I was in an extremely awkward position.
What must the others be thinking?
Did they believe I did it on purpose, or did they assume it was an unavoidable accident?
Whatever the case, there was no denying that my current situation was incredibly troublesome.
"So now... what should we do?"
Araven let out a deep sigh, as if no answer came to mind.
"I... don't know either. Since it's a precious relic we worked so hard to retrieve, restoring it would be ideal, but at this point, that seems difficult. What are your thoughts, Mr. Adil?"
"What can I do? I don't even understand how this happened..."
Sighs erupted from all around.
This was undoubtedly an unprecedented situation, so everyone seemed to be getting a headache over it.
Besides, if I had been some villain, they might have resented me outright—but that wasn't the case, so they couldn't just blame me.
"First, we should inform the elders and hold an emergency meeting."
Adil clenched his eyes shut, as if his head was throbbing.
"Also, I heard that Mr. Min-jun requires my assistance. Of course, if there's anything I can do to help, I should—but I think I'll need to attend the emergency meeting first."
"Should I... participate as well?"
After all, I am directly involved in this incident.
But Adil shook his head.
"It would be better if you didn't. If your testimony is needed, I'll let you know."
After Adil left to summon the elders, Araven spoke up.
"Ms. Estelle has already arranged lodging for you, Mr. Min-jun. You should stay there for now. I'll inform Mr. Adil that you're at the inn."
After escorting me to the inn, Araven left with a reminder to rest well.
"How did things end up like this...?"
I unpacked my belongings in the inn room.
I wanted to resolve this issue as soon as possible, but right now, there was nothing I could do.
Since the meeting would likely take a while, I decided to rest briefly before heading to the small clearing behind the inn.
There, I retrieved the Dragon Bone Sword from my Subspace.
I wanted to properly sense and test the new power I had gained.
It would have been easier if I had a sparring partner or a training dummy, but—
given the circumstances, I'd have to make do with what I had.
First, I meditated, focusing on the draconic energy flowing through my body.
It was unmistakable—compared to before absorbing Bellium's Tears, the energy coursing through me had undeniably increased.
However, compared to right after absorbing the Tears, the energy had weakened considerably.
My tentative hypothesis was that my "vessel" wasn't yet capable of fully absorbing all the power contained within Bellium's Tears.
Just in case, I tried invoking Dragon Words—but, unsurprisingly, I failed.
Still, not all failures are the same.
Even though I failed, I could feel it—just a little more, and I might finally be able to wield Dragon Words properly.
What should I call it...?
If I were in a special environment like the Garden of the Dragon Sword, or if I could reconnect to that mysterious aura like yesterday, I might be able to stabilize my use of Dragon Words.
And as for Dragon Fear...
It probably wasn't a good idea to test it here.
If I messed up, I might end up harming innocent people.
"Guess I'll just train."
Now that I thought about it, I hadn't been able to properly train due to all these incidents.
It wouldn't be the same as the perfect training environment I had back on Earth, but at the very least, I could still meditate and do image training.
Central Hall of Elysium.
"Everyone, take your seats."
Here, the emergency meeting regarding the issue of Min-jun absorbing Bellium's Tears had just begun.