Chapter 404
Chapter 404
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 404
Chapter Title: Dragon Shaman, Belial
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The Dragon Shaman, Belial.
This sorcerer, who had made a name for himself centuries ago, had assimilated part of his body with a dragon. By offering his own spirit and flesh to gain the power of the dragon, he came to be known as the Dragon Shaman.
Dragonization.
Implanting an ancient dragon into one's soul and body. The ultimate fusion with perfect life itself. Belial had stepped into a realm no one else had dared to touch, let alone attempt.
Even if it meant losing himself.
Even if it meant becoming a beast.
Because there was value worth pursuing.
Because there were convictions that must be upheld.
Belial warped his own soul and body. He paid countless prices to seize that power. The day he first transformed his arm into a perfect dragon limb...
"Get out of the way, Ganikalt."
"This is not where you stop. This is not where you belong. You can't get stuck in a place like this. You mustn't."
"So, I'll clear the path."
The cursed tree rooted in the damned land, the castle bound by its extending vines, the blackened earth—all of it was overturned by Belial.
"Go, Ganikalt."
The cursed tree's roots were ripped out, shooting toward the sky.
The castle entangled in its vines was shredded into dust by the wind. The blackened earth turned to sand in the raging storm, crumbling into fine particles. Everything visible was ground to pieces.
The whirlwind was pitch black.
A jet-black storm like the scales of the ancient divine dragon that guarded the gods during the distant Age of Chaos. Belial, who commanded that eerie wind, earned a new name that day.
The Black Storm.
The Black Storm, Belial.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ His left hand plunged into the Dragon Hunter's abdomen.
From its fingertips erupted a fierce storm. Belnoa sifted through someone else's lingering memories in their mind. A wind of destruction that ground everything it touched to dust.
Still immature and with dragonization incomplete, Belnoa couldn't fully replicate that wind... but they could imitate it in their own way.
A shadow suddenly rippled around Belnoa's arm, assisting them. If borrowed power wasn't enough, they would use what was their own. As if declaring this, Belnoa twisted the shadow-wrapped arm counterclockwise.
And then.
The wind swirling from their fingertips began to rotate.
Kagak, kagagagagagak!
The ferocious wind exploded outward from inside the Dragon Hunter like a blast. It spun violently, devouring his organs. Bones, blood, flesh— the storm greedily consumed it all without discrimination.
"Guh... kuhuk...!"
The Dragon Hunter's body shuddered repeatedly.
The storm swelling from his abdomen shredded half his body completely. Even his spine was swallowed by the gale, leaving him unable to stand. Caught in the wind, the Dragon Hunter shot into the air.
Suspended in midair, the Dragon Hunter let out a hollow laugh.
Through his blood-red vision looking down at the ground, he saw Belnoa with their arm extended. The storm bursting from their fingernails had devoured him and continued on, grinding up the trail of dragon corpses behind.
Kagak, kagagagagak!
The storm surged, tearing through dragon corpses, spilled dragon blood, and the blood-soaked earth. Before that raging tempest, the Dragon Hunter could only laugh.
His lungs torn, he couldn't even speak.
Twisting his lips, the Dragon Hunter plummeted.
Even after giving his all, exhausting every move, casting aside even a warrior's pride—he had lost. He couldn't call his opponent dishonorable.
'I lost.'
Asterio, who had lived for centuries on the battlefield.
He had seen humans surpass their limits countless times when cornered, and he himself had done so at times. It was simply that, in this moment, it was that human who had broken through.
The falling Dragon Hunter tumbled across the ground.
Blood, entrails, shattered bone fragments spilled out. Losing most of his body as he died, his form was utterly pathetic. But death was always ugly. Through his fading vision, the Dragon Hunter gazed at Belnoa.
Belnoa collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Blood streamed from their nose, mouth, and eyes. Using such a technique with a body at its limit—the backlash wouldn't be light.
'Ah.'
The Dragon Hunter smiled.
Staring wide-eyed to the end, he looked at Belnoa. Belnoa, slumped on the ground, looked back. In the Dragon Hunter's eyes, Belnoa sensed something chilling.
...The expression of someone with a goal in sight.
Or someone who had already achieved it.
But all that remained for the Dragon Hunter was death.
Then what exactly? In that instant, a phrase surfaced in Belnoa's mind. It was something the Dragon Hunter always spat out like a habit.
"I am a commander and a leader before I am a warrior."
Commander. One who devised strategies.
And for the success of those strategies, they spared no means. Even if that meant their own life.
A shrill keeeng rang in Belnoa's ears.
It came from the Dragon Hunter's body. His dying skin melted away. The moment his death was detected, the circuit engraved in his skull activated.
"...!"
Belnoa hastily hurled shadow daggers to shatter the skull, but a barrier spell deployed in an instant deflected them. Then, the Dragon Hunter's skull, wrapped in protective magic, slowly rose into the sky.
...The Dragon Hunter was a superhuman who had survived centuries on the battlefield.
One couldn't survive that long on personal prowess alone; sometimes cunning and persistence were required.
"Assume every possibility. Never let your guard down."
Prepare for every contingency.
Guard against the one-in-a-million chance.
That way, you survive.
Because Asterio had lived that way, he had prepared for this situation too. Not believing he would survive forever, he had planned for his own death.
"Great Existence."
Centuries ago, the day he became a superhuman.
The Dragon Hunter had begged the Great Existence. It was an unreasonable request, one that might anger it, but the Great Existence graciously granted it.
"A fine resolve."
"I shall grant your wish."
That day, the Great Existence engraved a circuit into the Dragon Hunter's skull. It bestowed a fragment of itself upon him.
"Devour me."
It was a circuit that activated upon the Dragon Hunter's death.
The fragment of the existence embedded deep in his skull—the Life Vessel—activated.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Well done." Glowing blue from the floating skull's eye sockets.
The skull's form began to change. Flowing black mist coalesced into a figure. As the existence took shape, hundreds of circuits deployed simultaneously.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Rest now, Asterio." The ancient magus.
The ancient lich, Skeval, had manifested.
2.
Flaaaash—hundreds of circuits lit up.
Blinding light accompanied a barrage of spells. Before Belnoa could even grasp the situation, their body moved on instinct, sprinting along the cliff to dodge.
Chiiiik!
Unable to evade completely, their skin sizzled and burned. Belnoa gritted their teeth.
'They just keep coming, one after another...'
It was exasperating.
They'd barely taken down one, only for an even greater monster to appear. Hanging from the cliff, Belnoa glared at the ancient magus floating in the air.
......
Skeval silently gathered mana.
That alone summoned hundreds of circuits. The speed of their deployment was beyond what Belnoa could match. Belnoa gritted their teeth and moved.
Their body was already at its limit.
The backlash from wielding draconic power was crashing in.
Facing such a foe—a being called a calamity—with this body. The ancient lich, Skeval. They'd won once before... but they couldn't hope for the same luck now.
'Even then, it took a superhuman's aid in perfect condition, plus Chloe's support, to barely win.'
Victory was impossible in this state.
Escape too. Then what? Pay more to push the dragonization further?
📜 DIVINE MESSAGE 📜 [...Impossible.] The goddess shook her head.
📜 DIVINE MESSAGE 📜 [Even this level of dragonization is precarious for you now. Push further, and your soul shatters. That's the end.] Belnoa ground their teeth.
The cliff they ran along shook, and bone stakes erupted. As a stake pierced their thigh, Belnoa groaned and halted—only for a fierce flash to sweep over them.
A house-sized fireball hurtled toward them.
Swinging their creaking arm to summon a storm and extinguish it, follow-up spells rained down relentlessly.
...Skeval was the pinnacle of orthodox wizards, mastering every elemental spell to its limit.
Ferocious storms and flames, surging ice pillars with trailing lightning bundles, quaking earth—it cornered Belnoa in an instant.
Even reaching superhuman realm, dodging it all with physical prowess was horrifically difficult.
Plip, plop.
Wounds multiplied on Belnoa's body.
Dragon scales protected those areas unscathed, but the rest was exposed and crumbling under Skeval's spells. Finally unable to flee, Belnoa crashed to the ground. Only then did Skeval speak.
"This is the Land of Shade."
Skeval's finger pointed at Belnoa.
Circuits spread in the air converged into one, reinforcing a single spell.
"You can never leave this place."
A flash gleamed from Skeval's fingertip.
The completed spell was simple and efficient.
Exterminate.
As the black flash surged forward.
Sensing doom, Belnoa instinctively closed their eyes—only for the goddess to whisper in their ear.
📜 DIVINE MESSAGE 📜 [You've finally arrived.] A voice brimming with amusement.
Exterminate.
Immediately after, another spell manifested.
In that split second, Belnoa saw it.
A platinum flash shot from atop the cliff, severing the black one. Light flashed first, sound following a brief delay.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
The flash nullifying Skeval's spell struck the ground. Skeval and Belnoa's gazes turned to the cliff top simultaneously. There stood a girl.
"Belnoa."
The Hero, Chloe.
"I've come to save you."
As she panted heavily, Rox beside her placed a hand on the cliff.
Cataclysm.
Immediately, the cataclysmic spell synonymous with Rox shook the cliff.
3.
The shaking cliff.
Vision obscured by rising dust, Chloe landed beside Belnoa with knights in tow.
"Belnoa, Belnoa...!"
Seeing Belnoa's wounds, she groaned. Belnoa clenched their teeth.
"...Step back, Chloe."
Joy at her coming to rescue them was fleeting; Belnoa's mind raced. They couldn't beat Skeval with this group.
Her wounds were healed, but Belnoa saw Chloe's clothes stained red. She'd fought countless battles getting here.
Evidence: the knights with her looked exhausted. Some had lost limbs.
"I'll hold—"
"It's fine."
Chloe shook her head.
"Just rest."
Her voice was firm.
Chloe pulled the rising Belnoa behind her. She took a step forward.
"Arrogant."
The dust settled, revealing Skeval. He sneered down at them.
"Think this meager reinforcement lets you escape?"
He raised both arms.
Blackbone soldiers began rising from the ground in response.
"This is the Demonic Realm, my domain."
No luck like last time.
As Skeval's eyes gleamed blue, Chloe didn't retreat an inch. Belnoa sensed unease from her back.
...Not just Chloe.
The knights beside her, those guarding Belnoa—none showed fear in this dire situation. Far from resolved to die. Quite the opposite.
They were certain of victory.
What gave them such confidence?
Then Belnoa saw it.
The cubic artifact in Chloe's hand. She'd been channeling mana into it since leaping from the cliff. As it blinked briefly, Chloe smiled. She tossed it into the air.
"Final resistance? With that pathetic magic tool...?"
Skeval's eyes widened in shock mid-sneer.
"What...?"
Skeval saw the spell within the artifact.
A spell no one had dared attempt. Plainly named.
Gate.
The artifact sliced open space with blue light. Shattering after fulfilling its role, the opened rift remained.
Clack.
From beyond the rift.
Clack.
Footsteps echoed.
"Ah... aaaah... aaaaaaaaah!"
The presence from beyond.
Skeval screamed, unleashing spells at the connected space. They were intercepted by Chloe's spells just before reaching the dimensional gate. Residual spells clawed at Chloe, but knights shielded her with their bodies.
Blood sprayed.
Chloe vomited blood, weaving spells.
The knights' raised shields groaned and crumpled.
Their fingers twisted.
Skeval's desperate barrage intensified, but knights and Chloe held firm without retreating a step. After what felt like an eternity.
Chzzzt, chzzzzzzt.
Enduring the strain of spatial transfer, someone stepped out. The air grew heavy the moment she did.
"Why, why, why!"
Skeval groaned.
"Good work."
Humanity's strongest force entered the battlefield.
"Leave the rest to me."
She patted Chloe's shoulder and stepped forward. Her deep blue eyes gleamed sinisterly in the darkness from the vanguard position.
"Hey."
The Hero, Lania van Trias.
Heir to the Ashen Mage's name.
The Demon King's Army's most dreaded calamity.
"Quit posing, asshole."
Grimacing, she clenched the air.
"Come down."
Swinging her hand, multilayered spells smashed Skeval's skull from above.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
With a deafening roar, Skeval was slammed into the ground.