[ Master of the Venom and Curse Dragons (2) ]
“Hand him over.”
Noah spoke through gritted teeth. Despite the overwhelming aura from those much stronger than him still lingering after the battle, he didn’t back down.
Seeing his stubborn stance, Seong Hyunjae was reminded of the moment right after he had defeated Babar. Although the opponents were entirely different, the situation felt somewhat similar.
However, unlike back then, there wasn’t any intent to kill this time. Of course, he still had no intention of handing over the young man cradled in his arms.
“Guild Leader Sesung.”
Ignoring the anxious voice calling him, Seong Hyunjae continued to gaze at the unconscious face of Han Yujin. For a moment, he thought Yujin looked young. Perhaps a bit older would suit him better—around… thirty, maybe.
“Hey, don’t ignore someone’s younger brother.”
Liette, who had been examining the dead Dragonkin, furrowed one eye as she spoke.
“Shouldn’t you start by teaching your brother some manners?”
“What?”
“He should learn not to covet what belongs to others.”
“I did teach him to take whatever he wants by any means necessary.”
Liette sprang to her feet, her golden eyes twinkling, though with a fierce smile.
“And I want him too. Our little guy seems to have quite a few abilities.”
“Well, you can’t stop ants from swarming a candy box.”
“Why ants? At least call me a passing dragon.”
“Shouldn’t we lay him down somewhere first?”
Noah, who had flinched when his sister approached, gathered his courage again and cut in.
“Rather than that, it’d be better to finish the raid and get out. Last time, it took a few days for him to wake up, and there are healers outside.”
“Is this only the second floor? For our fragile little darling, I guess I’ll have to use a bit of strength.”
Liette, transforming back into her dragon form, swung her long tail confidently. With her speed and destructive power, the raid would likely be over in no time if she got involved.
— Want a ride?
“I have a few things to take care of, so I’ll leave that to you.”
— Huh? Oh, are those guys still alive? Why’d you keep them?
Tilting her head, Liette recalled the hunters from MKC and Sudam and asked.
“They caused such a big mess, so we might as well make use of them. Two of them are S-rank hunters, after all.”
— So thrifty.
“If it’s useful, use it. From now on…”
Seong Hyunjae trailed off mid-sentence. A vague thought came to him but soon vanished like smoke. Feeling a sense of unease, he looked down at Han Yujin once more.
Everywhere you looked, dragon corpses and traces of their remains were scattered. Their sizes and shapes varied, but they were all of the Venom and Curse Dragonkin species.
— Grrrkkk
A dragon with a long, snake-like body writhed as it was impaled by a spear made of black flames. Then, blocking my path stood a familiar face.
Lautitars.
The Venom and Curse Dragon King let out a hideous scream. He seemed bigger and stronger than the one I faced before my regression. How many kings are there, anyway? Then again, there were at least a couple in my hometown too.
“You really don’t have any tricks besides sending out your pets. What a pathetic master.”
I guess it couldn’t be helped if your main attack skills are poison and curses. Breathing in the thick venomous air felt like taking in fresh mountain air to me.
I unfurled my wings and leapt over Lautitars, slicing off all three of his heads in a single strike. If this creature ever showed up outside the dungeon, the continent would have to be abandoned. They’d probably be grateful that he can’t fly.
Thud.
With no particular sentiment, I turned my gaze toward the master that was spewing dragons and let out a cold sigh. Then, activating Shadowless Day, I strengthened my magic and fire attributes.
Toward the creature trying to push away the white mist—
Ssshhhh!
A frigid downpour began to fall. The once-hot air quickly cooled, but it wasn’t enough to overpower the black flames bursting up here and there, and the heat returned.
I darted toward him whose movements had been bound. Using Hermes’ Shoes for teleportation was tricky, after all. My wings were faster for pure speed.
“Getting tripped up by an F-rank.”
I smacked him hard with my transformed hand, and he went rolling across the ground. What a delightful sight.
“Damn it!”
“Losing all your pets one after another.”
I folded my wings and landed on the horned head of the beast. He launched some kind of attack skill at me, but I easily countered it. When it comes to skill versus skill, I’m leagues ahead.
“And now it looks like your memory’s about to get shredded too. At this rate, shouldn’t you just get demoted to minus-F rank or something?”
Sssst! A burst of light erupted as one of his arms started to burn. To make the memory extraction easier, I used the Terrifying Chick Class Teacher skill. It had helped in bringing me here, so it should prove effective now. The opponent’s rank was high, but thanks to my skill’s upgraded effects, I managed to delve in without much resistance.
Inside his consciousness, his memories were piled up like dust that had gathered for countless years. I forcibly yanked out some fragments.
As expected, he had once belonged to another world.
‘So this guy was something like a natural-born S-rank.’
A species of ancient Dragonkin, dealing in poison and curses, which had nearly gone extinct after being driven out of its world. He was a type of sorcerer, one that tamed and fused dragon species to create new ones.
It was an interesting revelation, but it wasn’t what I was searching for.
“Think about the Bird that Counts the Stars.”
Who she is, where she is, how to find her.
I rifled through his memories again. This time, I focused on his skills. It seemed that this mental skill could only be broken if both sides willed it. That meant he couldn’t escape. Good information.
I discarded the useless memories and kept searching.
“I already know that if the dungeon isn’t stopped and is overrun, the world gets destroyed.”
There were memories of worlds that had vanished. When dungeons kept exploding and monsters poured out, most of the humans—no, most of the intelligent life forms in those worlds—had disappeared. The areas around the dungeons had been consumed as if eaten away, eventually being entirely absorbed by something.
“So, it doesn’t always require a dungeon. There are worlds where monsters just roam freely?”
There were even worlds without systems or awakenings. It was like a medieval fantasy setting, where people had magic or swordsmanship from the start. As the monsters grew stronger and the situation spiraled out of control, those worlds, too, were devoured by something.
In such worlds, those who had created the system—those vile degenerates—had disguised themselves as gods, providing guidance and rewards through oracles and achievements to help the intelligent life forms. Of course, those worlds ultimately fell too.
“Is there no success story?”
I was starting to get anxious. We can’t let this world fall. At the very least, it has to hold on for the next hundred years—no, maybe two hundred, since S-ranks live longer.
Ignoring his desperate struggle, I kept digging through his memories. Useless memories, more useless memories, and then—Han Yuhyun.
My younger brother, looking older than now, with a cold expression on his face. For a moment, my chest chilled too. …This wasn’t from the time they made the contract.
[Why are you asking me about Seong Hyunjae’s whereabouts?]
It seemed to be after Seong Hyunjae had disappeared. The memory was recent, and the image and voice were clear. Han Yuhyun’s cold gaze sent shivers down my spine as he disappeared from view.
I tried to pull that memory back again, but it slipped through the cracks among countless fragments. As I stood there, momentarily dazed, I grabbed the Dragonkin and tore him apart once more.
After rifling through countless worthless memories, I finally found something unusual.
“The third, the deepest well?”
Though it was called a well, the image that came to mind was entirely different. It was more like a black hole, with light flowing endlessly into its depths instead of water.
Then.
“The fifth, a tree where snow falls.”
A colossal tree whose size I couldn’t even begin to fathom, with particles like snowflakes fluttering around it. Among the infinitely sprawling branches, I saw a single bird flying.
Compared to the size of the tree, the bird was so small it was hard to make out clearly, but it was definitely larger than most dragons—a white bird.
The Bird that Counts the Stars. I had a gut feeling it was her.
“What is that snow-falling tree? Where is it?”
“You said you didn’t want to hear it from my mouth.”
The Dragonkin grumbled with a hollow laugh.
“To think things would get this twisted. But one thing’s clear, Han Yujin—you’re the key.”
“What?”
“If I kill you, this world ends.”
What nonsense. And how are you going to kill me, when you’re already half-dead? I thought to myself as a section of the space began to crumble.
The form of the Dragonkin I had by the collar started to vanish. The cracks in the air widened, and fragments broke off, scattering.
Half of the space—
Beyond the broken part, in a void-like realm, a massive dragon began to rise. Through his unfurling wings, I could see scattered lights. No—those were stars. Realizing this made me feel dizzy for a moment.
“The Ancient Venom and Curse Dragonkin, Diarma.”
I muttered as I took a step back, deeper into my own mental space. This was the true form of the master of the Venom and Curse Dragons, fully transformed. Unlike the weakened projections I had fought before, this was the real thing—Diarma in all his unrestrained might. My whole body trembled faintly.
“Can this even be allowed?”
— The cost will be a long period of sleep. But killing you will be worth it.
“You’re really setting your sights too low.”
I spat out the sarcastic comment, but the tail end of my voice wavered. The dragon moved. His claws reached toward my space, as if to shatter it.
Thud!
Something bounced. It was a volleyball. Its drawn face was scrunched in irritation.
Thud-thud!
— Foul!
The volleyball, our newbie, shouted.
— You there.
— Foul! I’ll connect with Senior Droplet!
And then, the rain began to pour.
Ssshhhhh—
The fire was extinguished, and the venomous air dispersed. The heavy moisture soaked the atmosphere, and within that rain, a colossal figure emerged. The dragon raised his spines and let out a roar.
— Mermaid Queen!
And just as it said, it was a mermaid. But unlike any mermaid I had ever imagined. Her shimmering blue scales and transparent fins made her incredibly beautiful, but at the same time, she was terrifying.
This was the most battle-hardened mermaid in existence, no doubt about it.
Crack.
The scales on her back shifted and clattered together like wings. The shimmering earrings she wore felt oddly familiar. In her hand, a long spear was poised, and the dragon let out another mighty roar.
— The degenerate locked away has come outside!
“Technically, we’re inside Honey’s consciousness. We can’t leave here. Not ever.”
Like a knight hunting dragons, the spear was aimed squarely at the beast. She turned to me, and her deep, sapphire eyes—devoid of any whites—sparkled with a smile.
“Will you grant me permission, Honey?”
“…Excuse me?”
“You are the master of this space, after all.”
I looked at her, then at the dragon beyond her. Permission?
“Is there anyone else who wants that thing’s head more desperately than me? So, yes, I’ll cooperate.”
The moment I finished speaking, the tip of the spear lashed out. The air felt as though it were submerged underwater, heavy and slow.
— Krrrrraaaa!
The dragon lunged at the Mermaid Queen. As he entered my space, his size shrank considerably. Now, his hulking body was barely the size of Lautitars’.
Even the terrifying pressure that had matched my fear resistance earlier had dwindled noticeably.
“How did this happen?”
I asked, turning toward the Mermaid Queen. She, too, had shrunk down to only slightly larger than a human.
“Even though this is your consciousness, if we clashed here at full power, Honey could be in danger. So, I adjusted the level of risk by linking us together. And I did say we were cooperating, didn’t I?”
Cooperation, indeed. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
“Diarma, shall we go for round two?”
Amidst the downpour, I spread my wings. The dragon, still wary of the Mermaid Queen, bared his fangs.
— Even weakened, I won’t be the same as before!
“I’m glad to hear that. It wouldn’t feel like a real fight if I didn’t get at least one chunk of flesh torn off.”
This wasn’t a space where I could just narrowly avoid death. So, give it all you’ve got and rip me apart.
Lightning crackled down with the cold rain.
The venomous air, which could melt through anything, surged toward me in a frenzied wind, ripping at my body. I folded my torn wings and dropped down onto the dragon’s head. Blood ran down the sides of his eyes—but it was mine. My blood seeped into the cracks between his scales and set them aflame.
A hideous scream, followed by the stench of burning flesh.
In the gaps where his scales melted away, I drove in a spear of venom-tainted blood and brought down another bolt of lightning. The concentrated current burst forth with blinding light.
After gnawing and wearing him down piece by piece—
A cracked mana stone fell into my hands. It wasn’t very large. Just slightly smaller than my palm, and a murky black.
Drip. Drip.
The rain continued to fall. I stood in the flow of washed-away blood, turning to face the Mermaid Queen. And I asked her,
“Do you know anything about the Bird that Counts the Stars?”
–TL Notes–
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