A Dragon's Chill
The awakening of the eyes by a corrupted human who has reached the absolute source of demonic energy. It allows them to instantly channel the power of a demon into their body for a brief moment. A simple yet terrifyingly immense power that grows stronger the closer one approaches the "essence."
Rowen transformed in tandem with Nome's change. Demonic wings—bat-like appendages—unfurled with a sickening, wet crack.
At the same time, Rowen found those ram-like eyes utterly repulsive. The man hadn't just accepted magi; he was actively trying to become a demon himself.
To Rowen, Nome's actions and ideas were completely incomprehensible. Despite transforming into something so hideously grotesque, Nome's face didn't twitch in the slightest. It was as if he had stripped away all emotion.
He hated it. He knew with absolute certainty that if he didn't kill Nome right here, something terrible would happen. He had to kill this bastard. Even if the man transformed, that fact remained unchanged.
Around Rowen, the souls of all his ancestors awakened. He permitted the manifestation of the Spirit King, Balenos.
At the same time, unbeknownst to Rowen, something else squirmed within him. An energy from the "other" side, unrelated to his father's bloodline, began to creep outward.
The hidden truth. The hidden prince. The hidden dragon.
Everyone had mocked and dismissed him as a mere bastard. The only ones who had ever embraced him were his father, his brother, and the woman he loved more than life itself.
He managed to block Nome's magic sword, but the agonizing pain in his arm was on a completely different level. He spun his Core to its absolute limit, summoning all his ancestors as spirits. His mana screamed in protest. This was not a level of pain a mere human was meant to endure. It was only natural that his heart was straining under the pressure.
Yet, thanks to that very agony, his Dragonic, imperial instincts awakened. He suppressed it naturally, as if it had always been a part of him. Just as Nome suppressed his demonization, Rowen suppressed his dragonification.
Bat wings and dragon wings clashed above the burning ridge. Like the Ice Dragon that had fought alongside Balenos against the primeval demons a thousand years ago, azure wings sprouted from his back.
An energy completely opposite to Lucius's crimson wings. If Lucius represented blood, Rowen, inheriting Kadan's legacy, manifested the essence of ice.
Why was it? He didn't feel like he could lose. His pounding heart beat so violently it felt ready to burst, circulating blood through his entire body at a frantic pace. The supply of mana rushed in just as quickly.
Once more, he distorted the axis of time to move. Nome anticipated Rowen's bizarre movements, his eyes shifting independently. Within the hyper-accelerated particles of time, they traded dozens, hundreds of blows.
It was a draw. They fought on equal footing, though Rowen held a slight advantage. Spirits could not move within the distorted flow of time. By the time the spirits could whip up a storm of mana, Nome's magic sword and Rowen's Holy Sword had already clashed dozens of times.
Rowen drew a half-moon following a rightward arc. Where the magic sword went, the Holy Sword followed. Deflecting the blade, he channeled gravity into his leg and kicked the "demon" with a brutal sweep. Nome's jaw shattered.
"...Tsk."
Nome's face contorted. Rowen had finally succeeded in forcing an expression out of him. However, Rowen also frowned. The speed was utterly absurd. Why? Before he could even process the thought, Nome's jaw had completely regenerated in less than a minute. This is why I fucking hate demons...!
At the same time, his arm suddenly felt light. It had been dislocated. He jammed ice armor directly into the joint between bone and muscle, forcing the limb to hold.
"You son of a bitch."
"...How impudent. In whose presence do you utter such vulgarities?"
"Look at you, acting like a leader when you're just a corrupted demon. It makes me sick. Pentagon, which you bastards took, was originally our land."
"And now, it is ours."
Rowen ground his teeth, tasting the copper tang of blood.
"...It's because of you. Because you attacked Pentagon, I lost my father. Lucius lost his home! The entire continent, which was once a single nation, was torn apart!"
I...
"...will never forgive you!"
"I never asked for your forgiveness, nor do I care. The defeated sure talk a lot."
"...I'll kill you."
Nome looked down at Rowen, his eyes half-lidded. His dry, dead gaze made Rowen's throat feel tight, suffocating him with a heavy pressure.
"Try it. I will simply kill you first."
"Your arrogance pierces the heavens."
"Kadan's bastard. Are you one to talk?"
"Shut your fucking mouth."
They spoke with their swords. Clang!
Rowen countered instantly. The red and black magi bleeding from the magic sword absorbed the flames, wrapping around the blade in a spiral. Nome swung. It was a simple swing, yet a wave of fire surged toward Rowen. He unleashed his frost ice to block it. Heat and cold collided, triggering a violent explosion. Slipping through the smoke, Nome and Rowen clashed once more.
Sira Yunseul glared at Angelica, the Prophet of the Bow. She could feel an overwhelming energy radiating from afar. The collision of magi and mana. The sheer force of the energy vibrating all the way here made both of them tremble.
"...Filthy mana," Angelica muttered.
"Disgusting magi," Yunseul retorted.
Yunseul took a steady breath. Having blocked those blood-red arrows for so long, she barely had any stamina left. Her legs trembled, and her breath was shallow. The Prophets were indeed formidable foes.
Yet, she knew. If she defeated this opponent, she would take another step forward in her growth. She was absolutely certain of it. Moreover, for the sake of the bastard son fighting in the distance—as his stepsister, sharing the same adoptive father despite having no blood relation—she had to kill Angelica.
A wind blew. A northern wind. The chill of Balenos swept in from the north. For some reason, this cold did not feel unpleasant. Her brown, silk-like hair fluttered in the biting wind. She surrendered her body to the breeze.
From this moment on, she would treat the being before her not as a mere corrupted human, but as a demon. Demon, devil—different words, same entity. She channeled her holy power once more. Though her breath was ragged, she could still clench her fists for the sake of everyone who had been sacrificed.
If she lost to this bitch, it would only add to Rowen's burdens. He was a child carrying far too much already. She couldn't know everything, but she could feel it. She didn't know what secrets he harbored, but she would wait until he was ready to open up and tell her.
"Tsk, did Thesia really lose to pests like this?"
"Pests? How harsh. And what about you? Are you already exhausted by a mere 'pest'?"
"...Shut up!"
"You can't even put up a decent fight, so where do you get off running your mouth? And I'm not exhausted."
That was a lie. She was exhausted as hell. Sira Yunseul was simply buying time to recover her stamina. At the same time, she infused Yang energy into the Yin-heavy ground, stripping away the negative energy to form a temporary barrier.
"...Tricks!"
Arrows of magi formed on Angelica's magic bow. Layering them over and over, she fired a thick, bullet-like projectile. No matter how strong Sira Yunseul was, taking that much magi directly would corrupt her. So, she twisted her axis and spun her body. It was a speed she could easily dodge.
"And they call you a master archer. Nothing special."
"Kahahahaha! You crazy bitch. Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Who even are you?"
Boom!
Having recovered some strength, she stomped the ground, forcing her body through the crushing wind pressure to unleash a barrage of holy power. Crash! Angelica used the wind pressure to glide backward gracefully, summoning countless magic circles as she moved. The sticky sensation of magi filled the air. Yunseul felt it too. She had to bring Angelica down before that spell was completed.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Ugh, a mere exorcist...!"
"And you're just a demon who gets slaughtered by those exorcists every single day!"
Angelica's brow twitched. She had definitely taken the bait.
"Are you quite finished?"
"Not even close. I've got plenty more."
Angelica genuinely finds Sira Yunseul childish. Though an enemy, the woman's strength and technique were formidable. To overwhelm her using nothing but fists... Angelica thought she was someone worthy of respect. Well, only when she kept her mouth shut.
"How childish!"
"Look who's talking!"
Crack! Yunseul's leg traced an arc through the air, forcing the atmospheric pressure downward. Thud! The earth trembled. The winds of the East and the North resonated with her heart. The wind embraced her tenderly while simultaneously turning into sharp blades. The slashing storm of wind inflicted an indelible wound on Angelica's waist.
"...How?"
"Holy power is the energy meant to oppose demons. No matter how strong a demon is, they cannot unravel it."
All according to the will of Kaliarun. She stormed forward. Arrows rained down, but her swinging fists and blade-like winds shattered the magic bullets. Spectacular explosions erupted.
...Damn it, at this rate, we'll be too late.
They needed to capture Lugion, the capital of Arkansia, to halt the production of magic engineering. She hadn't expected the Prophets to actually intervene directly. She had anticipated it, but for them to possess power on par with her own... Honestly, she was surprised. But so what? She just needs to win. Whether it's a hole in the stomach or the head, death is the same.
As long as she wielded magi, trying to regenerate her body against someone with holy power was a bad idea. It would only cause her energy to backflow. Perhaps realizing this, Angelica's body was covered in minor wounds. Frowning at her multiplying injuries, Angelica spat on the ground.
"Pah."
"Where do you think you're spitting?"
Sira Yunseul's straight punch thrust forward. Angelica bent her waist fluidly to dodge. Her evasion is top-tier, Yunseul noted. But not unbeatable. If she evaded, Yunseul just needed to defend and close the distance simultaneously. Getting close was the goal from the start. With holy power gathered in her hands, targeting a vital point guaranteed victory. And this was that moment.
"Ugh!"
"Ranged pests who play keep-away are always weak in close combat."
"Who says I'm weak in close combat?"
Angelica's eyes shifted. But...
"I do. And what kind of cheap trick are you trying to pull?"
Sira Yunseul ignored Angelica's shift and unleashed a relentless barrage. The magic bow began to shatter under the holy fists, and Angelica's seductive face was beaten to a bloody pulp.
"Close combat with zero muscle? Cut the bullshit."
Do you know why Sira Yunseul was called the greatest martial artist of Kaliarun? Because once she closed the distance, any opponent, no matter how strong, was beaten to a bloody pulp and pushed to the brink of death. If a referee didn't step in to stop it, they would die. That was why Angelica should never have let Yunseul get close.
"...You bitch!"
"What, you cunt?"
Many might have forgotten, but Sira Yunseul was a woman who had been told her entire life that she had a mouth like a sailor. Anyone who tried to talk trash to her got trashed right back. Sira Yunseul had seized the upper hand. A smile played on her lips, but internally, she was tense. She doesn't know what lies ahead, so she has to wrap this up quickly.
Yin-Yang. Taiji. Holy Power.
"Om Garajiya Sabaha."
— Begone, demon.
"Niragantaya Sabaha."
— O Blue-Necked One, grant me fulfillment.
⟨ Exorcism of the Blue-Necked Lord ⟩
She would settle everything with a single blow.
"W-Wait..."
"Shut your trap."
"...Let go of me! I can't move...!"
She clenched her fist, pumping her muscles. Time to start a Kaliarun-style conversation.
Brainless,
"Smash."