Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: The Azure Dragon's Pearl
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Su-hyuk crossed through the door.
It was nothing more than a thin door on one side, but the moment he passed through it, Su-hyuk's world changed.
Within the hazy mist.
Walking through fog so thick he couldn't see an inch ahead, Su-hyuk felt a strange sensation.
'It's like I'm walking on clouds, not through fog.'
The ground beneath his feet felt softer than usual. When he inhaled, a fluffy sensation came with a misty scent tickling his nose.
Strangely, there was no sticky humidity.
It truly felt like strolling atop clouds.
As Su-hyuk savored the sensation for a moment, someone spoke to him.
"It's been a while since I've seen a human."
Su-hyuk's head turned.
Beyond the hazy mist.
The hulking figure of a giant was gradually approaching.
When it finally revealed itself, it was no ordinary human.
A humanoid with blue scales and skin.
Its appearance was unusual, but since he'd already heard about it from Jin-un, recognizing who it was wasn't difficult.
"You're the Azure Dragon?"
"You know me? Did that human tell you everything?"
The "human" in question was, of course, Jin-un. He'd said he'd imprisoned this Azure Dragon here since it was just a hatchling.
"How'd you end up locked in here?"
"Not me. They suddenly caught me and locked me up."
The voice was full of grievance.
But Su-hyuk didn't bat an eye as he countered.
"Didn't do anything bad?"
"Not really? Oh, I did kill a few humans."
A nonchalant tone, as if swatting a few bugs.
"Why'd you kill them?"
"Just did. Then one day, the human I was about to kill caught me. Wasn't an ordinary one."
"Should've just not killed any humans to begin with."
"That's the hard part."
Hwaaaak—.
A chilling sensation wrapped around Su-hyuk's body. In that instant, the Azure Dragon's pupils slit vertically, turning feral.
"I still itch to kill you right now."
There was no special reason.
From the Azure Dragon's response, Su-hyuk understood why it was imprisoned here.
'Instinct.'
There was no malice in it. It was simply a difference between species.
The innocence of a child stepping on ants.
That was how this Azure Dragon viewed humans.
'Now I get why they just sealed it away.'
The Azure Dragon before him was still young. Not old enough to distinguish good from evil or right from wrong.
Divine beast or not, this was a monster that couldn't be let loose outside.
"But why'd you come in here? Didn't know I was here?"
"I knew."
"Then why?"
"I need to learn how to make clouds."
Su-hyuk answered and then asked.
"I heard Azure Dragons can control the weather."
"You did."
"How?"
"Think telling you will make you get it? It's as natural to us as breathing is to you."
No one can teach you how to breathe. Realizing it is instinct for any creature.
So, learning to make clouds from the Azure Dragon might be impossible.
Did it read the disappointment in Su-hyuk's eyes?
The Azure Dragon asked in a puzzled voice.
"But why do you need clouds?"
There was a straightforward reason. If he could make clouds and control the weather, he could reduce the burden of lightning and amplify its power.
But if asked the fundamental reason Su-hyuk sought the Azure Dragon, it wasn't that.
"......There are people I need to save."
Various faces flashed through his mind.
The first to surface were Si-woo, Ye-ryeong, and Hyo-min.
People he had to save going forward.
"I need it for them, at least."
"Who's dying?"
"A few already have."
Over the three faces, Hwang Gyu-seong's overlapped.
Following the face of the man who died smiling before him, even earlier deaths resurfaced.
Su-hun, Min-jae, Ji-young... and Gyu-seong.
All died right in front of him.
"So I have to protect the ones left."
He was the one who led them to death. Hwang Gyu-seong wouldn't have ended that way without their promise.
So he had to prevent it next time, no matter what it took.
Ensure it never repeated.
"Family?"
"Something like that."
"Romantic."
Did the answer please it?
After a moment's thought, the Azure Dragon nodded.
"Alright. Do this, then."
"You have a way?"
"Possible. If you have this."
Bwoook—.
With those words, the Azure Dragon stabbed its own chest.
The sturdy-looking scales tore open, and sharp claws dug into flesh.
As Su-hyuk panicked at the sudden self-harm, a brilliant blue orb emerged from the Azure Dragon's body.
"It's a Yeou pearl."
"Yeou pearl?"
"We wield the weather with this."
Su-hyuk gazed at the blue orb the Azure Dragon had extracted from its body.
Fist-sized, it emanated a beauty like a priceless jewel, resembling a condensed piece of the blue sky.
"Hard for a human to handle. But even for one, using this might let you control the weather once or twice."
Su-hyuk's eyes sparkled.
An item that controls the weather.
It would be far more valuable than any formation. Unlike illusions trapping foes in mirages, this altered real weather.
And besides.
'Once or twice is enough.'
He didn't need to wield weather every time.
Just once.
For that day, he absolutely needed it.
"It's exactly what I need."
Su-hyuk reached out his hand.
But the Azure Dragon, which had deliberately extracted the pearl, brought it back to its mouth.
"Not for free. Even we take over a century to make one."
Jjeoeok—.
The pearl slipped into its massive maw. Watching it swallow the Yeou pearl again, Su-hyuk asked.
"What do you want?"
"One favor."
"Favor?"
"Get me out of this damn place."
The Azure Dragon extended its hand.
"Then I'll give you this Yeou pearl."
Su-hyuk emerged from the formation again.
When he recounted what happened with the Azure Dragon, Jin-un shook his head.
"No."
The response was firm.
"The Azure Dragon is clever and cunning. A young one is no different from a wild beast that bites and kills for fun."
"Can't we just kill it?"
"The Yeou pearl only works while the Azure Dragon lives. Kill it, and it's just a pretty rock."
A being that couldn't be killed or released.
A headache. But giving up meant forgoing the enticing Yeou pearl.
"Only one way."
Su-hyuk turned back toward the door.
"Get it without killing."
"That easy?"
Jin-un was skeptical.
Taking the Yeou pearl from the Azure Dragon was far harder than simply killing it.
"No good. I can't help with this. It's already inside the formation."
"It's my job."
"Dangerous."
"Have to anyway."
Su-hyuk headed for the door without hesitation.
"No matter what."
Searching the estate for Su-hyuk, Unhyang ran into Jin-un.
When she asked where he was, Jin-un explained everything.
"The Azure Dragon?"
An unexpected divine beast's name.
"Why's something that dangerous here?"
"That's why it's sealed."
"And Su-hyuk went to catch it?"
"Yes."
Silence followed Jin-un's answer. Noticing Unhyang's unexpected reaction, Jin-un asked.
"Not going?"
"Me?"
"Thought you'd rush to help after hearing."
"You didn't ask for help."
"True, but......"
He'd assumed she'd come running upon hearing the news.
Insisting she couldn't let Lee Soo-hyuk go alone into danger. That she had to help.
But.
"There's a reason you didn't ask. Maybe you don't need my help. Or there's another reason he must do it alone."
Her faith in Lee Soo-hyuk was thicker than expected.
To some ears, it might sound more like worship than trust.
"Impressive faith."
"He's always won. The Lee Soo-hyuks."
Lee Soo-hyuks.
Unhyang grouped the two Su-hyuks together.
At her words, a flicker of nostalgia crossed Jin-un's face.
"Yeah. He has."
Lee Soo-hyuk was always like that.
Turning the impossible possible, always emerging victorious.
Jin-un's old comrade, whom Unhyang admired, and the current streamer Lee Soo-hyuk.
Both had accomplished the same feats, as if they were the same person.
"I don't know what he's aiming for, but I believe in him."
Gazing at the door Su-hyuk entered, Unhyang spoke with conviction.
"He'll come out from there with what he wants."
Su-hyuk reentered the door. In the meantime, the mist had thickened even more.
The waiting Azure Dragon asked.
"What'd he say?"
"Difficult."
Su-hyuk shook his head.
"Too dangerous to release you."
"That human said that?"
Recalling Jin-un, murderous intent flashed in the Azure Dragon's eyes. They slit vertically again.
Its form shifted closer to a true dragon from humanoid.
No telling how long it'd been trapped, but resentment had built up considerably.
Su-hyuk nodded.
"And I agree."
"Killing a few humans that bad?"
"Not knowing it's bad makes you more dangerous. You kill humans without guilt."
The Azure Dragon looked indignant.
"Just different."
"True. Maybe."
Su-hyuk had met many villains. Even the pinnacle of evil, the Heavenly Demon, and others who'd killed with varying degrees of righteousness.
But the vibe from this Azure Dragon was different.
It truly didn't grasp killing humans as wrong.
Which made it all the more perilous.
The more he saw, the clearer Jin-un's reason for not releasing it became.
"But I still need that Yeou pearl."
The Azure Dragon's eyes narrowed at Su-hyuk's calm words.
Wuduk—.
As bones reshaped, the Azure Dragon's form slowly began to change.
From small humanoid to full dragon. Claws lengthened, murderous aura spreading wide through the mist.
"Gonna take what you want by force?"
"Can't give up."
He couldn't yield an inch. One concession could lead to another death, and he might not endure it.
"So I'll subdue you and take it."
Lightning (벼락)
Activation initiated
Pajijiji—!
Lightning flowed from Su-hyuk's fingertips, spreading everywhere.
Riding water particles, clashing and colliding, growing in size.
The swelling lightning soon exploded with a massive roar.
Kwarung—!
Thunder boomed from all directions. Amid the deafening noise, the sharp metallic ring of a sword being drawn pierced through.
Kakang—.
Thus, Su-hyuk aimed his sword at the Azure Dragon.
But.
"......What are you?"
The Azure Dragon, mid-transformation to dragon form, reverted to normal.
Far from growling at the threat, it looked utterly baffled.
"Why need a Yeou pearl with that?"
"What?"
"Forget the pearl—you already have it."
Kururung—.
Surveying the thunder-laden mist Su-hyuk had created, the Azure Dragon said.
"The power to make clouds."