Dragon God vs. Dragon God
Stolen again! Stolen right out from under me!
Damn it all!
Drakestar sucked in a ragged breath, his face twisting into a snarl of pure disgust.
It was a truly wretched turn of events.
The Guardian of the Black Egg and Union had appeared out of nowhere — and between them, they had seized every eye in the room, claiming the center stage that should have been his.
Why the hell did those two show up together?
But an even sharper question cut through the rest.
According to everything the Hero Council had gathered, those two should never have been able to stand side by side. The Guardian of the Black Egg, in particular, was known to have played the decisive role in returning the people of Jeju Island safely to Korea.
In the Abyss, Baal was completed as a being that was the Abyss itself. After devouring an omen that appeared without warning, Baal suddenly died. From Baal's belly emerged a black egg, and the Guardian of that black egg returned every last person to where they belonged…
Countless witnesses had seen it. There was no room for error.
The survivors, they said, had come to revere the Black Egg as a god. They regarded its Guardian as a divine messenger — an emissary of the god itself — and carried drawings of that figure like protective charms.
Drakestar and the Hero Council saw things differently.
Look at him however you like — that is a Death God of the Empire's Death God Religion.
The white wings were a little unusual, but the rest of the form was unmistakably that of a Death God. Judging by the power that had forcibly sealed the warp, the ability to open a warp from within the Abyss and send people home had almost certainly been that same Death God's doing.
…The power to manipulate warps on a massive scale. That puts him in an entirely different league from every other Death God of the Death God Religion.
The Death Gods they knew were evils that hunted and killed Players — trackers who claimed the souls of those the Death God Religion had branded as "sinners."
This one went far beyond mere difference. Compared to the rest, he was an unscalable wall.
So was this Death God even one of theirs at all?
"The demons will be unable to use warps for some time," a voice declared. "Knowing Isera's nature, he will lead his demons here in person."
While Drakestar's thoughts chased one another in circles, Union's voice slammed into every Player's eardrums.
"Isera?"
"Did he just say Isera?"
"He really said Isera…!"
Opinions on the enemy's true leader had been scattered. Speculation had been rife — but the moment that speculation hardened into certainty, Drakestar's brow furrowed and he spoke.
"Union, Mage of the Golden Rule! Why should we believe a word of that? You invaded Earth alongside the demons, didn't you?"
"I, too, was forced by a weakness Isera held over me. But as you can see, I am human, the same as all of you — and I despise the demons. Let us fight together."
Union launched into his performance with shameless ease.
At once, several of Korea's Players found their voices.
"If the Guardian stands with him…!"
"Right — he can't be a bad person!"
Absolute faith in the Guardian of the Black Egg. Boundless trust. The incident had been such a global flashpoint that even Players from other nations knew the name.
Drakestar could not help but ask.
"Union. Are you the god of the Black Egg?"
The one who had slain Baal of the Four Calamities. If Union had emerged from the Black Egg, his power would be beyond imagination. Gracia and countless armies had failed at what this man had accomplished alone. If such a being fought as an ally… Drakestar hated to admit it, but the Players' morale would soar.
After a beat, Union opened his mouth.
"…Yes. I am the god of the Black Egg."
The god of the Black Egg!
No one doubted it. If he had killed Baal of the Four Calamities, then surely he could handle Isera as well.
Ohhh!
Incredible!
The moment Union first opened his inventory and weakened the demons, the Players' eyes lit up. Victory in this war suddenly felt within reach — he was pulling out dazzling items without end, radiating total composure.
"We can win!"
"The god of the Black Egg fights with us!"
"Waaaaaaaah!!!"
This was a battle they had no choice but to win. Otherworldly monsters that ordinary Players could not even scratch without the Golden Rule wrapped around them. Defeat here would mean the end — gathering this many Players again would be all but impossible.
Failed to detect Weakness!
…What?
On the other side of the cheers, Union was thoroughly rattled. The Seeker's Set had failed to activate properly.
But Isera was unmistakably a demon — a mutant Dragon God who had entered a Demon King's service and become one. And yet it had failed!
"Burn."
Fwoooooosh!
The instant the word left Isera's lips, hellfire erupted across Union's entire body.
"Gah—?!"
Union's eyes went wide with shock. Isera could command the fires of Hell at will. Union had prepared the Grace of Water as a countermeasure — and it would not activate.
"Fool. Did you truly believe a trinket like the Grace of Water could stop my fire?"
"That's impossible…!"
It should have been impossible. The Grace of Water was a Myth-grade tool — grace itself, capable of extinguishing every flame.
But Union knew only half the truth.
Don't tell me every attribute is rooted in his weakness…?
This was not simple fire. Only by finding the weakness Isera had set for himself could any of these attacks be stopped. Having never faced him directly, Union had no way of knowing.
Seeker's Robe has exhausted its durability.
Seeker's Pants have exhausted their durability.
Seeker's Hood has exhausted its durability.
Even the Seeker's Set that had been holding back Isera's fire was burning away to nothing. Panic clawed at Union.
"Inventory — Indomitable Armor!"
"Inventory — Resistance Boost Potion!"
"Inventory — Paralysis Earring!"
Survival first. Raise his vitality, boost every resistance, erase the pain. Then endure as long as possible and find Isera's weakness.
At best, I have thirty minutes. Can I find it in that time?
With an experience potion he could have lasted a full six hours. Weakened as he was now, thirty minutes was the absolute limit even if he threw everything he had into it. Isera's flames dealt continuous damage — the fate of anyone who faced him head-on.
Healing potions or recovery magic might buy a little more time, but Isera was hardly going to stand by and watch.
"Spirits of fire."
Fwoosh! Fwoooosh!
Dozens of fire spirits bloomed into existence around Isera — towering giants wreathed in flame, every one of them a spirit of the highest fire-attribute tier. Isera was a being beloved by the spirits of fire.
But that was far from the most terrifying thing about him.
"Spirit King Agnes."
Agnes, the Spirit King of Fire!
The spirits already summoned swirled together, drawn into a single point — and from that vortex stepped a man crowned in fire.
Union's eyes twitched.
Spirit King Agnes?! He shouldn't be able to summon that…!
As far as Union knew, even Isera's limit was a few dozen top-tier spirits. A Spirit King was a monster of an entirely different order. Those proud beings never answered a demon's summons.
And yet a Spirit King stood before him now.
Agnes, Spirit King of Fire — one of the primordial rulers who reigned over the spirit realm like a god.
……
Agnes turned his head in silence and looked at Union.
In that instant, goosebumps raced across Union's entire body.
I have to run…!
Isera alone was already more than he could handle — and now the Spirit King Agnes? There may never have been time to find a weakness at all. Isera had grown stronger than before. His authority. His blessing.
CRAAAAACK!
Agnes raised his right index finger and pointed at Union. In less than a heartbeat, a colossal spear of flame — vast as the sun itself — took shape.
"Inventory — Shield of the Absolute!"
"Inventory — Endless Sea!"
"Inventory — Frostbite Staff!"
Sensing death on pure instinct, Union threw every card he had. The highest-grade treasures he could draw. The Shield of the Absolute, especially, was a treasure among treasures — one that even a 3-star Transcendent had failed to pierce. Infuse that shield with the blessing of the Endless Sea, and even the Spirit King of Fire should not be able to neutralize it in a single—
BOOOOOOM!
CRACK! CRRRACK!
…Insane.
The spear of flame Agnes loosed crumpled the Shield of the Absolute in an instant. It cracked. It shattered. And then it was pierced clean through.
I can't win.
His body would not move. He had lost even the will to swing his staff.
Only then did Union understand. This fight's outcome had been decided from the start. Blinded by the thought of an Orthodox, he had overreached. He had never imagined Isera could command a Spirit King. Had he known, he would never have tried.
The Isera he remembered had been endlessly finicky — and beyond burning things, his offense had been nothing special. Now he had summoned a Spirit King to shore up that weak attack power.
Invincible…!
Offense and defense both pushed to the extreme — how was anyone supposed to kill a monster like that?
He could not stop it.
He was going to die.
Union squeezed his eyes shut.
"Fire — be gone."
And then—
RUMBLE! RRRUMBLE!
The sky blackened in an instant, and amid a storm of lightning, someone appeared. The moment he arrived, he erased the Spirit King Agnes's spear as if it had never existed.
……?
Agnes tilted his head. A single spoken word had rendered his attack void. No one present should have been capable of that.
And yet someone had appeared who was.
The moment Isera saw him, a small smile touched his lips.
"Dragon God Lucaria."
Lucaria — Dragon God of Earth!
Isera had never dreamed she would reveal herself of her own will. He cast a look that said he knew her well, and the immense pure-white dragon Lucaria let out a sigh heavy with regret.
"…Isera."
"I did not expect the Dragon God of this world to be you."
"Haaa. I looked the other way once before. I can look the other way no longer."
CRASH! CRRRASH!
Countless bolts of lightning hammered down across the entire sky.
"Gaaah!"
"Aaaaagh!"
"Kraaaah!"
The lightning evaporated thousands of demons in a single sweep. Isera merely watched, eyes gleaming.
"Miron said the same thing to me. But Miron died, and his heart was offered to the Demon King. Lucaria — what do you suppose will become of you?"
"…Fool."
Lucaria clicked her tongue. Isera — a half-Dragon God, a traitor to the Heavenly Realm. The Dragon Gods had overlooked his arrogance once. But the moment he invaded Earth, all mercy ended.
"Orb of Aspiration. Reveal that creature's weakness to me."
A great Orb of Aspiration rose before Lucaria. A Dragon God's Orb of Aspiration — before it, Isera's weakness would be laid bare with almost insulting ease. And Lucaria's Orb ranked among the highest of any Dragon God's. There was no secret it could not uncover.
Moments later the Orb dimmed, and Lucaria inclined her head.
"You should never have shown yourself here, Isera."
In a flash, Lucaria's eyes blazed with light.
BOOOOOOM!
Twin streams of lightning erupted from those eyes and struck Isera. Lucaria had used her own eyes as the medium of the attack.
Isera's weakness was self-destruction — an attack that demanded the sacrifice of his own body. Against another Dragon God, and against Lucaria in particular, Isera could never win.
I slowly gazed at the cracked egg of the Heavenly Realm.