Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: ACT.51 Antiquity and the End (3)
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I took a step.
I had only taken a single step inside, but the atmosphere changed so drastically it sent a chill down my spine.
If I looked directly behind me, I could see the sun in the sky.
And yet, this place was so devoid of light that I couldn't see an inch in front of me.
[Warning]
[The gap in power is too great. Entering this hidden realm is not recommended.]
As I tried to take another step, a system message appeared, trying to stop me.
I ignored it as if I hadn't seen it and moved my legs.
Before I knew it, my surroundings were enveloped in complete darkness.
[Entering this hidden realm is not recommended.]
[It is recommended that you turn back.]
[I'm telling you to turn back.]
It was that high-ranking devil from before.
Despite its words, it seemed to be faithfully carrying out its duties.
How amusing.
It feigned ignorance about the Primeval Fiend, saying it was our doing, and now it decides to meddle in this?
“Fuck off.”
I don't have time for this.
I widened my stride.
Perhaps it didn't want to bother anymore, as no further system messages appeared.
[Kim Se-hyeon. Is this right?]
Besial's voice reached me, though he remained unseen.
[The main quest is on the verge of getting completely twisted. If this gets untangled too, even I can't guarantee what will happen next.]
Rare for him, Besial's voice was laced with worry.
It meant the Dragon of the End was just that dangerous.
The worst and most malevolent of dragons, said to bring about the end of the world if even one were to awaken.
Still, I had a chance.
The Dragon of the End that had come to Earth was the youngest of its kind.
And it shouldn't have awakened yet.
Thud, thud.
My footsteps echoed.
Like overlapping ripples growing ever larger, the sound lingered in my ears, making my heart beat faster.
Finally, I stopped at a certain point.
A silent barrier, faintly glowing with a purple light.
[Incredible.]
“It is.”
It was a massive, perfect barrier, made of who knows how many dozens of overlapping magic circles.
No, I wasn't even sure if this could be called magic.
In a way, it resembled a futuristic hologram, or the kind of screen you'd see when a genius hacker was breaking into state secrets.
[Can you open it? No, is the language written on it the problem? It looks like it's designed to nullify translation items, so it seems tough. What are you going to… huh?]
While Besial flew around observing, I quickly deactivated the barrier.
Using Extreme Eye, I could easily discern the password pattern that allowed entry through the barrier.
The problem was that inputting the password required mana, and a considerable amount of it.
So much energy drained from my body that I felt languid.
I had already used up half my mana just trying to get past the barrier.
But there was no time to rest.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward with force.
“Halt.”
Clang!
My sword, having blocked something, rang out.
What fell to the floor, having lost its momentum, was a mere pebble the size of a fingernail.
“Who are you? How did you know to come here?”
There was something there.
Something that resembled a person but wasn't, that didn't look like a monster but possessed monstrous mana.
A Draconian.
A subspecies of dragon, like a mix of human and dragon.
A race born with an immense amount of mana and transcendent physical abilities, thanks to possessing a portion of a dragon's power.
I quietly narrowed one eye.
‘Was there a guy like this…?’
I'd never had to come awaken the Dragon of the End myself at such an early stage.
But that thing wasn't the Dragon of the End.
It had a lot of mana, but it was absurdly insufficient to be called a dragon.
I shifted my gaze beyond him.
There, I saw the Dragon of the End I knew.
A dragon that hadn't yet hatched from its egg, having only recently crossed dimensions.
“I'll ask again. Who are you?”
He bared his teeth and spoke in a low, deep voice.
He was positioned as if to block the path between me and the egg.
No matter how I looked at it, his intention was to protect the egg.
In other words, he wasn't something targeting the Dragon of the End, but the opposite. He was more like a guardian, protecting it until it awakened.
So then, why had I never seen him before?
“I have already asked twice.”
The air grew heavy, and a pressure settled on my shoulders.
Not to be outdone, I raised my mana as well.
“There will not be a third question.”
Kwoong!
His tail slammed against the floor.
A shockwave spread out, and a materialized wave of mana washed over me.
‘Kgh?!’
Even though I was prepared, a considerable impact shook me to the core.
Even several guild masters representing their countries couldn't exert this much pressure at once.
A being far beyond S-rank.
The Draconian before me was a powerhouse on the level of a near-disaster class.
That raised even more questions.
Why did the Dragon of the End always travel alone?
Even if he was of a lower class than the Dragon of the End itself, if they had acted together, they could have destroyed the Earth more certainly and swiftly. So why didn't they?
Did he come to Earth with it, only to return to his original place after the Dragon of the End hatched?
‘That's impossible.’
Why would he do something so inefficient?
His mission wasn't simply to protect the Dragon of the End until it hatched.
Just crossing the barrier required a substantial amount of mana.
Even without him, the Dragon of the End would have hatched safely and moved to destroy everything in sight, as was its mission.
And yet, there was a reason for his presence.
“So you exist to be eaten.”
Kwwaaaang!!
Instead of an answer, a shockwave rushed toward me.
Even imbued with mana, an ordinary sword would have shattered after just a few blows.
“It seems you not only found this place but also know things you shouldn't.”
His skin became further covered in scales.
An intangible energy grew from his fingers like a dinosaur's claws.
An aura made of pure mana.
Not to be outdone, I shrouded myself in Black Flame.
“Speak. How did you find this place! What do you know!?”
Kwaaang!
Each time it clashed with the aura, black flames scattered in all directions.
When they scattered, there were more than before.
When consumed, there was more than before.
I drew up mana ceaselessly, like bailing water from a well.
There was no time to conserve mana.
Even now, the Primeval Fiend is growing stronger, and people are dying.
There are people who trust me, who are waiting and enduring.
[Shattering Moon]
Alongside Alpha, I unleashed a sword energy that covered the space.
[Summon Darkness]
With Zeta, I crossed through space, landing dozens of attacks in an instant.
His skin was tough.
As if to prove he had inherited the power of a dragon, it was harder than diamond, showing a resilience that didn't easily break even against mana-infused attacks.
Nevertheless, my will was a step above his.
Kwaduk!
“Keoheok…!”
The Dragon Scale shattered, and spears of darkness pierced his exposed skin from all directions.
Darkness is familiar.
It's the first power I ever obtained, and the one I can wield most naturally.
His fading gaze brushed past me.
“Damn it… I am sorry. Lord Rasmaier.”
His body gradually turned to dust and disappeared.
A name I'd never heard before.
But I had no time to ponder what it meant.
I had used so much mana that it was hard to breathe, but there would be no more fighting after this.
With no time to savor the joy of winning a difficult battle, I approached the egg.
A massive egg that came up to my chest.
The mana visible through my Extreme Eye was terrifying.
“Besial.”
[What. Scared now that you're about to wake it up? Well, even for you, there's no way to handle this transcendent-class fiend…]
“I'll apologize in advance.”
[Huh? What for? I mean, you have a lot to apologize to me for, but why so suddenly? They say people die when they do things they don't normally do. Why are you being so ominous?]
“You're right, I'm going to die.”
I placed my hand on the egg and injected my mana.
[Die!? Hey! You can't die! No, wait. If you die, I'll be freed from the contract… Ah, damn it. Why is a guy who was doing so well suddenly talking about suicide!? Hey! Stop. You still have things to do with me. We have a promise!]
There was no end in sight.
It was like trying to fill a swimming pool with a cup; no matter how much mana I poured in, it didn't feel like it was getting full enough to hatch.
There wasn't even a twitch from the egg or a slight crack in the shell.
This wasn't nearly enough.
“Then how about this…!”
[Permanently consuming 1 Mana stat.]
[Permanently consuming 1 Mana stat.]
[Permanently consuming….]
In martial arts novels, there's a concept called life essence.
The life force a person is born with.
A power that cannot be recovered once consumed.
In exchange, it can produce far greater power than consuming normal energy.
While not to that extent, there was a way to achieve a similar effect with stats.
Twitch.
The egg reacted.
The bottomless pit now felt full enough that I could see the surface of the water.
Damn it. Looks like I'll have to use all the coins I saved for transcendence to restore my stats.
[Kim Se-hyeon!!]
My Mana stat continued to drop.
As if it were endlessly absorbing my power, the egg reacted noticeably each time my power decreased.
Crack.
When I had consumed 10, a crack appeared.
Crrrack.
When I had consumed 20, the cracks deepened.
Kwaduk.
And when I had consumed 30.
It broke out of the egg.
“Kyua?”
A hatchling so cute it made a mockery of the saying that it could destroy a world on its own.
It was a baby dragon.
[…Huh? This is the Dragon of the End? It's so different from what I heard.]
“It's still a baby.”
The hatchling rubbed its eyes, but stared straight at me.
To preserve its power when crossing dimensions, the Dragon of the End used a little trick.
It reverted to the state of an egg.
While the time it took to hatch was unavoidable, it had prepared a foothold for rapid growth.
That was the Draconian I had just fought.
“The Dragon of the End can grow rapidly by absorbing the energy of those it consumes.”
I knelt down to meet the hatchling's eyes.
The Dragon of the End's original memories only return after it has grown to a certain extent.
In other words, having just hatched, it was no different from a newborn baby.
This was a method that was only possible because of that.
“You know how newborns tend to imprint on the first thing they see as a parent?”
[I've heard that's true for animals. But I don't know if it'll work on the Dragon of the End.]
“I have to make it work.”
Kwajik.
I shattered a stigma.
The A-rank skill ‘Memory Manipulation’ was temporarily activated, and I used it immediately.
[The ‘Dragon of the End’ resists Memory Manipulation (A).]
Even as a baby, a dragon is still a dragon.
It was only natural for it to have resistance to an A-rank memory manipulation skill.
However, the power I gave it to hatch was none other than my own mana.
It was easier to imbue it with my mana than with anyone else's.
[The ‘Dragon of the End’ is affected by Memory Manipulation (A).]
The first thing to do was to imprint myself as its parent.
That wasn't too difficult.
And then, the main event, the second part.
“Eat me.”
I was going to die.
[Kim Se-hyeon!?]
The moment Besial shouted my name.
I felt something cold and sharp pierce my throat.
I definitely ordered it to end my life painlessly in one go.
It hurts like hell. Damn thing.
Still, this was it.
[You have died.]