◈ Episode 240. Like a Dragon (2)

‘It’ came like a thunderbolt.

“……!!!”

To the demons who were ravaging the continent as usual.

Even to the demons who were trying to make a comeback.

And even to the demon cowering in his castle.

Duarrrr─

Like being struck by lightning.

It froze every demon in the area.

And by all, I mean all the nameless demons.

The demons with true names.

Furthermore, it meant that even the Demon King was no exception.

The Demon King of Tears.

The 56th ranked demon king, Gremory.

Sitting on a throne, using a crouching man as a footstool.

As she rested, Gremory noticed.

The Arcana Continent, far, far away.

And from there, a message!

Creepy!

My limbs became stiff from the death.

To my surprise, I noticed that even the footrest seemed unusual.

Did he talk to me with a concerned look on his face?

“……What is it, my queen?”

But Gremory could not answer.

“If I do, my voice might be heard……!

As I said.

The presence felt far away.

The distance was such that even if a real thunderstorm had struck, you couldn’t hear it, let alone the sound of breathing. However, in the face of fear, Gremory could not think normally.

Fudadak!

The dignity of a demon?

That’s a good thing!

Gremory hastily ducked behind the throne.

“Queen?”

The voice of a scaffold calling out to her.

Gremory glared at the man with a murderous glare.

Are you so stupid you don’t even notice?

‘I’m not going to let you get away with this……!’

At that moment, she was holding her breath.

A thought popped into her mind.

……Yes, the Evil Eye!

If it’s a Evil Eye that shines all over the Arcana Continent.

I’ll be able to find the source of this aura.

Soon, Gremory’s eyes were covered in white.

It was the process of sharing the Evil Eye’s vision.

But…….

‘……This doesn’t make sense.’

She couldn’t see anything.

It was a fleeting moment.

There was no way the countless Evil Eyes in the night sky could have disappeared all at once.

Gremory scrambled to her feet and made her way to the window.

Only when she looked up did she realize why.

“!”

Evil Eye closed its eyes.

Just like me, you are terrified.

I couldn’t even bring myself to open my eyes.

“What the hell……?

Whoosh!

Gremory crouched down once more.

She tried to process the sensations in her body.

‘It was a long time ago…….’

Surely she had felt something similar to this before.

In the Demon World.

To be precise.

‘Bael.’

The first among the top ten demon kings.

In the summoning ritual of Bael.

When I looked up at Bael, I was trembling with fear similar to how I am now.

‘……I am afraid of this one.’

A higher power.

Call me stupid beyond words.

Even that power is not foolish.

Gremory remembered it well.

what Bael had accomplished.

To the extent that it is safe to say that omniscience and omnipotence have been turned upside down.

He had led a world to complete destruction.

‘The only reason I was able to escape that fear was……!’

Bael.

It was because I was confident that the King of the First Throne was an ally.

But now it was not an ally.

Gremory glanced at the scaffold man.

‘The humans are not trembling…….’

What it meant was simple.

In this moment, the life it exuded.

It was directed solely at demons like herself.

‘I, I don’t want to die!’

For the second time in her life, she felt fear.

Gremory wrapped her body in a blanket of flesh-colored hair.

She shivered with fear.

She just hoped it wouldn’t recognize her.

Desperately praying…….

*

The never-ending stream of messages about out-of-body experiences.

What is this?

For a moment, I thought it was spam.

I hadn’t done anything.

‘I haven’t fully recovered my magic power yet.’

Holding the cleared rift and opening the portal to the Arcana continent were as much a drain on my magic as they were complicated.

‘Without the World Tree’s blessing, I would have been sick for days.’

Of course.

[Skill, ‘Natural Enemy’ is triggered].

Although it didn’t really matter now that Natural Enemy was triggered.

‘By the way.’

Millions is just the beginning.

I am your enemy, your terror.

I was the one who made the threat.

‘……How long have you been quiet?’

The moment I set foot on Arcana’s soil.

I wonder if the demons will swarm.

I wonder if I’ll have to break through the demonic siege to find Eunaxus.

I assumed the worst and prepared for everything.

‘If this is the case, I am grateful.’

It’s not the end of the world, is it?

If I was unlucky, I’d run into the same forces that brought Eunaxus to his death. If the demons were so cooperative, I’d be able to conserve my power.

“Have you finally realized that lying face down suits you? I will praise you.”

…… Is this a compliment?

It takes me a moment to get the words out.

I summoned Hiel and Diend.

“Hiel, Diend.”

“Hiel, I have answered my lord’s call.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you here, my lord.”

Yes, I’m always thrilled to see you, too, with your exaggerated greeting…….

But there’s no time to gloat.

We need to do some preliminary work before our encounter with Eunaxus.

‘Eunaxus is not just any dragon.’

The leader of dragons called Elder Dragons.

I wasn’t done preparing for the encounter.

I gave orders to Hiel and Diend respectively.

“I, Hiel, will obey your will.”

Hiel disappeared into thin air first.

“I will do as you command.”

……After a while, the increasingly burdensome Diend also disappeared to carry out the order. Now that I’m alone, there’s someone who speaks to me, and I can’t leave out alter ego No. 3.

-A bittersweet scene, my master.

Gwicheol returns to his original state from the Illusion Breaker.

‘I hope this is a good thing.’

The moment you clear the code rift.

I don’t have to cut through the illusion anymore.

Indeed, an ego sword with an ego.

The Illusion Breaker had returned to its Gwicheol form.

Yeah, even though I’d rather call it that than Illusion Breaker, I’m not sure I could call it that……. I realized that this was not a relief.

-So what shall I cut, my master?

Gwicheol, this.

It was like it was just desperate to be called something new!

At this moment, I hear the cries of panicked demons all around me.

I rack my brain.

Even when just cutting down the prototype.

Isn’t it Gwicheol who awakened under the grand name of Illusion Breaker?

‘What if you awakened to slay demons…….’

……Demon Slayer.

Perhaps, it would have a name like that.

I imagine myself reciting that name.

I couldn’t help but worry about my shame.

And so I begged, desperately.

‘Demons, please stay down like that.’

Please, keep lying flat on your face.

Please do not displease Grandfell.

My snout is shaking as if it knows my inner thoughts.

“Gwicheol.”

Why, an alter ego cannot follow the real one.

“It would be quicker to start by counting what will not be cut.”

You’re a bit smarter than Gwicheol……!

‘Aren’t we going to have to memorize dozens of names later?’

The name of an illusion breaker.

The thought of reciting dozens of names.

I’m starting to get numb already…….

*

With each deep breath, my consciousness fades.

All I can see is a blur.

The devastated landscape of the Arcana Continent.

The dying old dragon, Eunaxus, laughed.

So much for eternal life.

I thought I could throw it away at any time.

This moment, with the shadow of death looming over me.

‘I was afraid of death.’

I realized how arrogant I had been.

Eunaxus’s smile turned bitter.

Agentress’s voice echoed in my ears.

-“You know nothing.”

-“You’re perfect, you don’t even know what inferiority is.”

-“The blessing was salvation for us imperfect!”

Even if others point fingers at you.

I, for one, should have known how you felt.

In the end, it was only in death that I understood you.

Eunaxus’ voice echoed throughout the space.

“Mother……. I will do your will.”

A plan that would begin with my mother’s own death.

But even as I close my eyes.

Eunaxus did not have the confidence to face his mother’s face.

So, as you can see, I didn’t fail in your persuasion?

Gathering of the All Dragons.

That day.

I told the story I had been putting off to my kin who were asleep.

The result was now.

A wing torn to shreds.

Wounds across his body, deep enough to expose muscle.

A ragged breath.

It was so.

What could leave such scars on an Elder Dragon on the Arcana Continent?

That meant only a fellow dragon.

“Everything is my fault.”

Everything was the result of my own shortcomings.

Eunaxus laughed bitterly again.

No, technically, he overestimated his own kin.

Oh, I wonder what Agentress would say if he saw me like this?

“I’ll admit it. I was a worse brother than you.’

The right way or the wrong way.

If you bring your people together…….

at least you won’t meet the same end as me.

But Eunaxus did not regret his actions.

Even at the moment of his death.

An unwavering glow.

Those eyes were the proof.

Eunaxus’s voice was tinged with bitterness.

“Claudi…….”

Please, have mercy on my foolish kin.

I will not ask for forgiveness.

All I ask is a little mercy.

But if you will not give it, I will understand.

“……I am not worthy to go against your will.”

And with that, it was over.

The Dragon Heart, more immutable than all things in the world, was slowing down.

The body that had lived an eternity was beginning to feel pain.

Eunaxus looked at the continent one last time.

‘You guys were groaning in this pain.’

But it wasn’t just Arcana that came into view.

‘And you have inflicted this pain on others.’

I could see the demons who had made Arcana what it was.

They were licking their lips.

They were whispering.

“The Dragon Heart is mine.”

“Kikik! I have to make equipment out of leather.”

“Weapons made from dragon fangs……!!!”

For the sake of my mother’s plan.

I wanted to burn all the demons in my way.

But even that wasn’t possible.

When I realized this was going to happen, I begged my kin to give me wings.

I begged them to leave at least one intact.

“Are you saying that even I can’t follow my mother’s will?”

I, Eunaxus.

I am.

Should I just close my eyes without being able to show respect to anyone?

What a pity.

“Kr…….”

With all my might.

It was the last of the Dragon Cry.

I can’t even drive away the demons around me.

‘……I was an infinitely weak being.

Slowly─

In the end, I couldn’t overcome my eyelids that were closing like a thousand pounds.

That was the moment Eunaxus closed his eyes.

For some reason, he felt an unfamiliar touch.

Light─

That’s right.

From the bridge of his nose.

A voice spoke in his fading hearing.

“I have heard your cries, Eunaxus.”

Eunaxus recognized it.

He could feel his mother’s energy.

The Spirit of Dawn.

But I am sorry, slender spirit.

As a brother who knows Mother’s will.

I wish I could help you in some way.

I am unable to do so.

But the answer came as a surprise.

“You have nothing to worry about.”

……Nothing to worry about?

“I have not come to you alone.”

With those words, Eunaxus opened his eyes with all his might.

Then he saw.

On bended knees.

Clutching bubbles.

Demonic figures, desperate.

And then he heard.

Ttogak─

The sound of footsteps.

Where the sound came from, light flickered.

In its halo.

Slowly revealing its upright form.

“!”

Eunaxus recognized him instantly.

That man was Dawn.

His mother’s chosen one.

And yet.

“……?”

Eunaxus’s pupils widened unusually.

Why……?

Why……!

‘Your hair…….’

The symbol of House Claudi.

Brilliant to the point of blinding.

Is it shining silver……?