The Worst Enemy (5)
The area near the Demon King's castle was rich with special resources rarely seen near the outskirts of human villages. Of course, this didn't mean the land itself was fertile. The energy radiating from the Demon King's castle made it impossible for ordinary fruits or vegetables to grow, and even the hardy famine crops or common grains that could survive in the most barren soil met the same fate.
But there was one thing that thrived in abundance: the mana herbs, fish, shellfish, and beasts that drew their life force from the mana leaking out of the Demon King's castle. And among those creatures, one predator in particular had claimed the greatest power and built its nest in the shadow of the castle.
It was the blue imugi of the lake—Crescendo. Ever since the Tower created its fifth floor, the creature had claimed the lake as its domain and never once left. Being so close to the Demon King's castle meant no insignificant monsters dared approach. Besides, the lake was filled with nutrient-rich food born from the castle's overflowing mana. There had never been any reason to leave.
A diet saturated with mana. Training beneath waters where both mana density and pressure far exceeded anything on land. Over those endless years, Crescendo had shed its identity as a mere blue wyvern and risen to the rank of an imugi—a mass-produced dragon.
Then one day, a handful of humans appeared at the lakeside, babbling about the Tower and the Demon King in words the creature couldn't understand.
“The Demon King's castle is right in front of us. Shall we rest here for a bit?”
“Time is short, but everyone needs to recover their stamina.”
“I never expected so many orc settlements on the way here…”
They sat down by the water as if they owned the place, purifying the lake water to drink, washing their hands, and scrubbing the dried blood from their clothes and faces.
It was irritating. But picking a fight with humans was frightening. So Crescendo waited in silence for them to leave.
Until—
“Oh, there are fish living here? Should we catch one to eat before we go?”
At the clueless white-haired woman's words—she appeared to be a mage—irritation flared inside Crescendo. Not only had they dared to trespass, now they wanted to steal its food. Nothing could be more infuriating.
“What nonsense. Who knows what kind of poison might be in fish living next to the Demon King's castle… Hm?”
The old man in martial robes stepped in to stop the clueless mage. Crescendo's tension eased for only a moment—until the old man stared intently into the lake and muttered something. Unease began to creep over the creature.
“...Isn't that a hwari?”
At the old man's words, the entire group in martial robes began peering into the water. The mage and the knight in heavy armor showed little reaction at first, but when the martial artists all burst into exclamations, they rushed over as well.
“It really is! Master!”
“Look! Isn't that a japae? How can a supreme yang spiritual creature and a supreme yin spiritual creature exist in the same place…”
“Incredible. Could the mana flowing from that castle be what created these spiritual beings?”
The fish they called hwari and the shellfish they called japae were exactly the two foods Crescendo had tried once before only to abandon them—its body had grown unbearably hot and its teeth had gone numb from the cold.
“Uncle Dang, the Murim players seem to be calling that fish a hwari. What is it exactly? And what’s a japae?”
“Huh? Your world doesn't have hwari?”
The old man called Uncle Dang tilted his head at the white-haired mage's question and began explaining.
A red carp that had absorbed natural energy for countless years and formed a neidan. A clam that had gathered extreme yin essence and nurtured a pearl within. Those were called hwari and japae. According to the old man's explanation, the two foods Crescendo had rejected out of pickiness were the most valuable resources in the entire lake.
Bubble, bubble…
“Huh? I think I just saw bubbles rising to the surface…”
The moment Crescendo understood the truth, it no longer wanted to lose its food.
For the first time, the creature emerged from the lake. To defend the territory it had guarded for decades. To protect the precious nutrition it had once dismissed as tasteless!
“D-d-dragon!!!”
“This is crazy! No wonder it was so quiet—with spiritual creatures like that just rolling around like pebbles!”
The players fell into complete panic at its appearance. Its presence was on a completely different level from any monster they had faced before. Just the sight of something resembling a dragon was enough to make the Murim warriors shrink back in fear.
Flutter! Kwaaaang!
When it spread its still-growing, pathetically small wings and slammed them down, the people quickly retreated. In truth, if the players had worked together they could have defeated it with only moderate losses. But this was an unknown type of monster, and with the Demon King's castle clearance right before them, exhausting themselves against a creature that wasn't even one of the Demon King's minions was a terrible idea.
That was the end of the insignificant battle. Crescendo never learned what became of those players afterward.
After protecting both the lake and its food, the blue wyvern Crescendo began eating the red fish and blue clams it had previously avoided. In doing so, it attained a level that transcended its previous existence by several stages and lived in peace.
But then—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
After a very long time, intruders it thought would never return once again violated its territory.
-…Ura!
-……Catch them and roast them whole!
Kuwik!!!
The orcs it had found irritating since long ago and planned to eradicate someday. Their numbers were simply too great, so Crescendo had always proceeded with extreme caution. Deciding it still wasn't the right time, it threatened them to drive them away.
“Kroaaaak!!!”
When the creature revealed itself, the orcs' faces turned deathly pale and they staggered backward.
Winning without fighting. This was the most effective combat method. From Crescendo's perspective, the current orcs looked like they would flee immediately just from being stared down.
But good was good. It hoped the orcs would never invade its lake again, so it spread its wings with maximum power and speed to display its majesty.
Whoosh!!!
Its wingbeats alone generated gusts of wind that toppled shallow-rooted trees one after another.
The orcs witnessed this too. What came next, however, was completely unexpected.
-Kuwik? I-is this a fish?
-Food…! It's food!!!!!
The moment they saw the food, their eyes rolled with madness. The wing flap meant to threaten had shaken off the shellfish and fish that had been parasitizing Crescendo's long-idle wings. The orcs charged.
The battle dragged on. It tore apart and smashed countless orcs. But for every one that fell, ten more appeared. For every ten that fell, thirty or forty took their place, hurling spears and axes.
Crescendo gradually grew exhausted. Scratches covered its body. Eventually its wing joint tore, and every flap brought excruciating pain.
But then—
“Huh? Mr. Kim Siin, where are you going? The Demon King's castle isn't that way.”
A familiar voice reached its ears. Red eyes and white hair. It was the mage who had once given it information about the spiritual creatures called hwari and japae. Crescendo whipped its head around.
It was her. But this time she hadn't come with dozens of people. She appeared with only a single man wearing white martial robes.
The creature roared. Or more accurately, it cried. Save me. We're acquaintances, aren't we?
The one who answered its call wasn't the white-haired mage, but the man in white who stepped forward.
***
“Doesn’t it look like that thing is crying right now?”
“Yes, it is crying.”
“No, I mean it looks like it’s sobbing, not just growling and roaring.”
At my words, the rabbit frowned and turned her head back toward the lake where the dragon waited. No matter how I looked at it, the creature seemed to be whining and crying. It was my first time seeing a dragon in this life, and I had never seen a reptile shed tears before, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was weeping.
“Anyway.”
Deciding it didn’t matter, I began sprinting toward the lake.
-Human…! It’s that human from before!!!
-Interference! Kill him!!!
The orcs that recognized me swung their weapons. But their full attention had been on the lake dragon, so they couldn’t possibly stop my sudden ambush.
Slash! Slash!
With every step, an orc’s head dropped to the ground. An overwhelming speed and power they couldn’t possibly withstand. But their numbers exceeded imagination, and it looked like the blue dragon would die before I could cut them all down.
‘Since it lived in the lake, it should be resistant to the cold…!’
Thunder-Chasing Footwork
Having reached that conclusion, I thrust the Hancheol Sword forward and executed the footwork toward the lake.
The surrounding scenery flashed past in an instant. Focusing solely on running instead of cutting down orcs let me reach the lakeside almost immediately. When I judged the distance right, I leaped as high as possible and hurled myself toward the center of the lake.
‘What I need right now is…!’
I immediately pulled out one of the cool jewels I had stored in my subspace pouch.
◈ Grants extreme frost mana
◈ Corrupts the user with cold energy
The moment I activated the Heart of Frost, frost began forming around my lips. The Hancheol Sword froze with cold energy and displayed a new message.
The Hancheol Sword reacts to the extreme yin energy.
Mana Lv.5 has additionally increased.
Crack!
The surrounding temperature plummeted. The humid air at the lake’s center froze, forming frost in the air. The moment the cold touched the water, the entire surface of the lake froze solid in an instant.
“Hup!”
But that was only the beginning. Gripping the Hancheol Sword in a reverse hold, I drove it straight down into the frozen lake and released my mana.
Craaaaaack!!!
No flowing water remained visible. All that could be seen was the panicked dragon struggling to free its legs from the ice and the orcs frozen solid where they stood.
“Haaaa……”
Cold air still poured from my mouth. The orcs on the outskirts had managed to escape the lake in time, but having sensed the danger, they didn’t dare charge forward recklessly.
“Wow, insane?”
The rabbit, watching from a distance, let out an astonished laugh.
After a brief silence—
-Give up……
The orc that looked like it held high rank based on its size spoke.
-The meal is for next time…
-Kuwik……
They retreated carefully. Leaving their dead comrades behind after already suffering severe losses in the fight against the dragon.
“Mr. Kim Siin! What about this guy?”
The rabbit—who had been urging me to run the moment the dragon first appeared—now jumped energetically onto the frozen lake with newfound confidence. She seemed reassured that the dragon’s lower body was mostly frozen and immobile. But that was only her misconception.
Crack…
“Huh?”
“Not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“It didn’t take any damage at all.”
Cracks spread across the frozen lake and it began to split apart. At first it had seemed to be whining for help, but the instant the orcs retreated its attitude flipped and it became an enraged monster once more.
Crash!!!
The monster roared as it pulled one leg free from the lake. Its entire body twisted, slowly breaking through the ice.
-Aaaa…a?
But its roar didn’t last long. As a child, I had been the realistic sort who hated those idiots who casually began their transformations in front of villains while calling themselves apostles of justice.
-Roa?
“Hello?”
I had already leaped right in front of its nose. With one leg still trapped, the creature had no choice but to take my attack directly.