The Dragon's Breath

The Eldritch Dragon's massive body tilted backward.

The [Tagarion Sapling] that had been embedded in its forehead tumbled to the ground with a wet splat.

Right before its heart was destroyed, the creature had somehow separated its fused body to save its own life.

“To think a mere mortal would—!”

“Watch your tongue. A goddess stands before you.”

“Hmph. Such vulgar, worldly expressions from foolish mortals.”

Oh boy, look at this guy.

When I said “goddess,” I wasn’t speaking metaphorically, you bastard.

I channeled the full power of Polar Night and wrapped it around the Tagarion Sapling.

At first the old man sneered. But as time passed and he felt the true weight carried within the Polar Night, his face gradually drained of color.

Now you finally understand why your curse didn’t work on me, don’t you?

“A power this deep should never have been granted to a mere human!”

“The goddess beside me gave it to me.”

Despair flooded the old man’s eyes.

I squeezed the Tagarion Sapling with the released power of Polar Night.

“Ugh!”

“Even a merciful death is too good for you.”

Before the regression.

Just remembering the massacre the Eldritch Dragon had carried out still made my blood boil.

This Tagarion Sapling was the root cause of it all. From my perspective, even devouring the bastard wouldn’t be enough.

“You kept going on about sacrifice for the greater good. Yet in the end, your own life was precious after all?”

“That’s how it must look to an ignorant commoner. My life must be spent in a far more valuable place.”

The Tagarion branch screamed, eyes bloodshot with rage.

Valuable? Please.

It’s romance when I do it, but adultery when someone else does?

That’s rich coming from the guy who ground up his own subordinates to summon an Eldritch Dragon.

So.

“Die in as much despair as possible.”

I pulled the Ars Goetia out of the Pocket of Desire.

He was still breathing, after all.

A curse that revealed the most horrific shapes lurking in one’s heart.

The Tagarion Sapling shuddered violently, then its head dropped with a limp thud.

“You are not yourself today, partner.”

“If it weren’t for the essence predation, I would have kept him barely alive and tortured him for a very, very long time.”

With a displeased expression, I rummaged through the corpse.

The first thing that caught my eye was a black tome.

A book radiating an eerie aura.

The moment I lightly touched the cover, it crumbled into ash and scattered in every direction.

……What the hell?

Is this thing mocking me?

“It appears to have been used as a catalyst when it fused with that dragonkin.”

“How do you even know that?”

“Call it a goddess’s intuition.”

A goddess’s intuition. Was there any more accurate description than that?

The clothes he’d been wearing were now rags, and every jewel or valuable item in his possession had been shattered.

The only worthwhile harvest was the fact that his staff remained intact.

The options felt a little lacking for a Legend-grade item. It had no internal skills, which was disappointing, but the sole option—200% amplification of dark mana—was incredible.

“I definitely can’t sell this.”

“Hmm, I cannot picture you wielding a staff, partner.”

“Well, I’ll find a use for it somewhere.”

I tucked Tagarion’s Guide into the Pocket of Desire.

Thanks to the Primordial Dragon Heart, I could use dark mana now too.

In this second life, I had obtained the Dragon Tooth Soldier Essence early and raised my mana stat tremendously.

With Dark Fighting Spirit, Raise Dead, and the Ars Goetia, I’d surely find a place for it.

In my previous life I’d almost never had the chance to use dark mana skills.

But becoming a Predator and gaining the ability to devour undead had changed everything.

The second reward was the Dragon Soul Stone.

Even though I had smashed it to pieces, it was still a powerful catalyst.

“Mors.”

—You called, yes?

“The Dragon Soul Stone. Can it be repaired?”

—You really smashed it to bits, yes. I shall attempt it, yes.

The dimensional merchant Mors carefully gathered every fragment of the shattered Dragon Soul Stone.

If it could be restored to its original form, I would devour the essence. If not, I could simply convert it into CP and sell it. Either way, a powerful catalyst like the Dragon Soul Stone was never a loss.

With business concluded, I placed my right hand on the forehead of the old man whose breath had finally stopped.

Though his appearance was nearly human, his species and values were completely different. I felt not the slightest hesitation in devouring his essence.

“Hmm, such power is far too much for a mortal.”

“Come on, even you’re calling me a mortal now?”

“The words do not apply to Yeo’s contractor.”

Even as I grumbled about the “mortal” talk, I inwardly agreed with Nyx.

Power Word.

The ability to interfere with the laws of the world was a power granted only to beings who had reached the realm of transcendence.

I had used a loophole to step one foot into that domain, but I still had a long way to go before I could properly wield Word of Power.

Besides, the essence the Tagarion Sapling had spat out wasn’t even a complete “Word of Power” from the transcendent realm.

“It’s only four-star. There will be a lot of restrictions on how I can use it.”

At best, I could designate a target and either stop it or accelerate its speed. The name sounded grand, but in practice it was just a buff and debuff skill.

It consumed an enormous amount of mana, but the fact that it activated the instant the words left my mouth and manifested at the speed of sound gave it both strengths and weaknesses.

“Hmph, how disappointing. I had hoped this opportunity would allow you to carve your name upon the stars.”

“Don’t worry. Once I gather essences that create synergy, it will reach the level of Word of Power you’re imagining.”

It was still a matter for the distant future.

I wasn’t impatient.

Compared to my previous life, I had already saved more than ten years.

“Alright. Now for the main dish.”

Rubbing my hands together lightly, I placed them on the Eldritch Dragon’s corpse.

An overwhelming surge of energy flowed through the point of contact and into my body.

* * *

The Eldritch Dragon’s essence.

Because the creature was half-undead, I had been unable to devour it in my previous life.

Back when it was turning northern Seoul into a wasteland, I hadn’t been strong enough to claim rights over its corpse anyway.

But that future ended here.

The monster that had slaughtered countless people—including Kim Woosung, president ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Player Association—now lay dead at my feet.

An essence I could never have absorbed before regression was now spreading from my right arm throughout my entire body.

The changed future.

Devouring the Eldritch Dragon’s essence made me truly feel how different everything had become.

“Hoo…”

My heart raced with intense exhilaration.

The power of dragon blood had taken effect the instant I finished absorbing the Eldritch Dragon’s entire essence.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“I was worried because you devoured something that was already half-dead.”

I reached out and ruffled Nyx’s hair all the way down to her scalp.

Her eyes filled with confusion.

“Your concern is excessive, Goddess.”

When I messed up her waist-length hair, Nyx exploded in indignation.

“How dare you! This is blasphemy!”

“You worry too much. You don’t have to fret over me that much.”

“Is it not Yeo’s duty to compensate for her contractor’s shortcomings?”

Was I really that unreliable in her eyes?

Well… I suppose I had deliberately sent my companions away to face the Eldritch Dragon one-on-one. It was only natural she’d been worried.

The new power I gained from devouring the Eldritch Dragon.

I tested it immediately.

“Dragon Form.”

My body transformed just like when I used the Void Mirror.

Unlike when I had absorbed the essence of a primitive species, the change wasn’t overly dramatic.

Black scales covered my entire body and horns sprouted from my head.

Wings burst from my shoulder blades, complete with membranes, and my coccyx elongated into a tail with a sharp pop.

“So this is what it feels like.”

My senses had grown far sharper.

The dragon race was known as the “Rulers of Mana.” The moment I transformed, my sensory range expanded several times over.

“Why did you use the Void Mirror?”

“I didn’t. This transformation came from the Eldritch Dragon’s essence.”

“Hmmm, it carries the same presence as Ismenios.”

Dracon Ismenios.

The master of the Dragon Tooth Soldiers who appeared during the tutorial’s hidden mission, and a dragon serving under Ares.

An “Elder” class dragon—one of the first generation of dragonkind.

So being recognized as a dragonkin during the duration of this form was what it meant.

With this ability, I would definitely gain benefits during the Tower’s hidden missions.

“Then I should test the breath as the final check.”

“Hehe, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go on. Breathe fire like Ismenios.”

Yes, yes. I’ll put on a tearful show of strength for you.

Thump— Thump—.

The Primordial Dragon Heart pounded like a war drum, wildly releasing all the mana it held.

My throat tingled.

The air I inhaled mixed with mana and began to condense into a colossal mass of energy.

It felt like gulping down an entire freshly opened bottle of carbonated soda.

I held the burning breath in my lungs as long as I could, then finally opened my mouth.

Kwaaaaaaaa—!

The mana stored within the Primordial Dragon Heart fused with my breath and erupted outward in a straight line.

A death ray that pulverized everything it touched.

The moment the low mountain in the DMZ took the breath attack head-on—

With a deafening roar, the entire mountain vanished without a trace.

“……Holy shit.”

It was slightly more powerful than the combination of Solar Explosion and Avalanche’s repulsive force.

Eldritch Dragon, sir.

Thank you. Thank you so much.