Chapter 716: Young Future (1)
I quickly turned toward the source of the sound. Seol also looked up above him in surprise. The venomous snake that had been about to rush in also hesitated at the appearance of a new opponent.
– Chirp!
A tiny baby bird was grabbing onto the ears of a small furball. It was Chirp. Gyeol was clinging to Byeol’s back, which Chirp couldn’t lift and fly with on his own, and was flapping his wings hard.
– Ah, Dad! I was trying to stop him!
“Chirp! Go back right now! No, first come over here–!”
My heart dropped. My mind went blank with worry and anxiety. The scales along Seol’s back stood on end. He spread his wings wide as if to shield Byeol. The Black Dragon’s four legs tensed, like he had no intention of backing down.
“Chirp! Please!”
I looked back and forth between the system window and Chirp, between the kids. What do I do, what should I do!
– Grrr!
The Black Dragon bared his fangs viciously and lunged at the snake first. It was an opponent he couldn’t beat by brute force, but he was trying to draw its attention away from Byeol.
Boom!
As Seol threw himself forward with his whole body, the snake braced, its scales standing on end, and met him head–on. Shhhh, the long body of the snake coiled around the Black Dragon and tightened. Seol clamped down on the snake’s neck, but he couldn’t endure the squeezing force and let out a low groan.
– Peep, kyu!
Seeing that, Byeol’s fur stood on end. Her tail puffed up like it might explode. She looked ready to pounce on the snake at any moment, and I grew even more anxious.
“Byeol! You can’t stay there, come to Daddy!”
– Yeah, Byeol. Let’s go to Dad!
Gyeol flapped his wings as hard as he could as he tried to pull Byeol toward him. But Byeol struggled, refusing to go. Startled that he might drop her if she fought much harder, the fairy dragon’s wings fluttered in a panic as he returned to hovering in place.
– Kh!
In the meantime, Seol twisted his body with all his might and barely managed to pry the snake off. Damn it, if I run over there now I’ll just get in the way even more! I racked my brain, but unless I called Yun Yun over, I couldn’t think of any way to get the kids out safely.
– Byeol! You have to dodge!
Gyeol pulled Byeol toward him again. Thud, the Black Dragon was slammed by the snake’s tail and crashed to the floor. Byeol let out another sharp squeal. And then, flutter.
Small golden wings spread open. They were crescent–round feathered wings, similar to Noah’s. Before I could even be surprised, Chirp also spread wide a pair of white wings.
– Piya!
– Kyui!
The peep–kyu cries intertwined like clasped hands. And then, Gyeol’s form…
– Huh? Huh!
He was starting to change! No, it was growth.
“Gyeol!”
The fairy dragon’s tiny body grew in an instant. He wasn’t a gigantic dragon on the scale of a mountain. He was just a little bigger than an adult human, still on the small side. His once–cute short neck lengthened gracefully, and his tail rippled out long behind him. Between the smoothly sharpened horns, a mane like a silver veil fluttered softly.
The adorably tiny wings that had suited his round body also grew to their fullest. The thin, translucent wings caught the light and shimmered in iridescent colors. The two pairs of wings moved slowly, not so much flying as gliding through the wind like he was swimming.
– This…
Gyeol stared down at his own body in confusion. A soft light flowed from his head, down along his mane, to the tips of his wings and tail. A Phantasmal Species – it was, quite literally, a fantastical sight. Even the snake that had been attacking Seol was entranced and gazed blankly at the utterly beautiful dragon.
He had the shape of a dragon, yet he also looked like a silver flower in full bloom, or a long, hanging pink rainbow, or a five–colored cloud filled with light. It felt inadequate to describe him with any single image. If you gathered up the most beautiful dreams and gave them form, you might end up with a being like that.
– Ah!
Gyeol, unable to hide how shocked he was himself, suddenly shook his head. Then he widened his golden eyes and glared at the snake. Don’t tell me Gyeol’s going to fight too? But a fairy dragon–.
– I can’t fight directly.
Gyeol’s gaze turned to Seol.
– So tell me your name!
– Han Seol.
– Han Seol. All the strength you’ve gone through and felt, make it reality.
Gyeol’s ability – making illusions real. The fairy dragon shed a gentle light from his whole body.
– When I was little, there was a limit to the rank, but not anymore!
The intense aura spreading out made the snake flinch and shrink back. The Black Dragon got to his feet. His dislocated leg planted firmly on the ground, and deep crimson heat rose from him like mist. Seol opened his mouth. Ancient words of praise, trembling with fear, flowed out.
– A calamity that melts mountain ranges.
As he spoke, his ancient power was drawn out and made real. His jet–black scales held an even deeper darkness. His raised head rose higher and higher, like a distant mountain peak.
– The despair that stands at the end of the continent.
Magic dense enough to prickle my skin spread out. I worried that Seong Hyunjae’s space might shatter, but instead, the broken walls were restored. The ceiling rose endlessly, and beneath it a dragon of an unreal size spread wide its membranous wings that covered the sky. The shadow of calamity fell over everything.
– The jet–black sovereign that burns alone, devouring the world.
Long ago, it was the blaze that swallowed even the monsters sent by the Origin and took the place of that world’s destruction. Before the incarnation of legend, the snake curled up. Panicking, it spewed out all the venom it could, but no matter how thick the poison, it melted away before the heat like snow.
The Black Dragon lowered his head toward the snake. Anyone could see the difference between them was like that between a lion and a fox. The snake might have been L–Rank, but in front of Seol it looked like a low–rank monster.
‘…Elder, I guess Seol used to be stronger than L–Rank.’
If he’d been given a little more time back then, wouldn’t he have reached the position of a Transcendent? Snow–white fangs showed beneath the black scales. The snake that had been pressing Seol so hard earlier froze completely.
– You are my final prey.
As if telling it to take that as an honor, his red eyes looked down on the blue snake. As though trying one last desperate struggle, the snake bared its fangs and hurled itself at the dragon. But before that, a scarlet breath was exhaled.
Whoosh–
Dragon Breath. A storm of fire raged. The searing heat swallowed the snake in an instant, devouring even its screams. It was a fire so enormous it didn’t just heat the air, it boiled it, yet beyond the spread of those black wings, none of that scorching heat passed through. Only a gentle warmth flowed.
When the flames finally died down, there was no trace of the snake. Even its magic stone had had its exterior melted and consumed; only a core about the size of a thumbnail dropped to the ground.
– Chirp!
Upon seeing the magic stone, Chirp teleported over, snapped it up, and swallowed it. At the same time, Byeol’s wings vanished and Gyeol’s body shrank back down to its original small size. Gyeol hurriedly caught the falling Byeol and, struggling, flew toward me. Seol also returned to his first size.
– Dad!
His big golden eyes were almost teary as he looked at me. My poor Gyeol, he must have been through a lot in that short time. He’d said he’d take good care of his little brother, but then the kid suddenly jumped into a dangerous place. As I came closer, Byeol popped out of Gyeol’s hands and leapt up high with a thud. Her long tail wagged happily as Byeol hopped toward me,
“Hanbyeol!”
Seol, back in human form, snatched her up. Holding the round, furball–like baby beast up to eye level with both hands, he gave her a stern look.
“It’s dangerous!”
– Kyuit.
“I told you to sit quietly at home and wait!”
Byeol’s bright blue eyes went round and blinked. Still flicking her tail in displeasure, she turned into her human form. As she tried to squirm away, Seol grabbed her arm again. Pouting, Byeol puffed out her cheeks and yelled back.
“You got hurt!”
“It’s still not okay!”
“Then are you not going to come if I get hurt too?”
“Because I’m strong–.”
“No!”
Byeol chomped hard on Seol’s arm. When a startled Seol let go, she ran over and latched onto me.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Byeol.”
I patted her back; she didn’t understand why her brother was angry.
“You like your brother a lot, so you were trying to help him, right?”
“Yeah.”
“That part was good, Byeol. But you’re still little. Children deserve to be protected, so if there’s something you want to do, you should tell the adults first. Then we’ll put the good things in your hands and move the bad things far away so you don’t get hurt. Until you’ve learned a lot and grown up enough to walk the path you want on your own. And someday, when you’re an adult, you’ll have kids you want to take care of too.”
“Ice cream is a good thing, but they keep taking it away.”
“If you eat too much you go owie. But Aunt Soyeong still gives you lots of good things, right?”
Byeol nodded. Maybe it was because of the memories of her species not caring for their young, but it still seemed hard for her to grasp the idea that she should be protected. I coaxed her, telling her that from now on she had to tell us before going outside. Yuhyun had always been so well–behaved I never had to worry like this, but most kids will vanish the second you take your eyes off them.
“Let’s make up with your brother, okay? Just like you worry about him, he’s acting like this because he worries about you.”
“Okay. Big brother. So from now on I just have to tell you before I come?”
“…Yeah. And I won’t leave you alone anymore either.”
Seol pulled Byeol into a tight hug. Byeol wrapped his arms around him in return.
“But how did you get here? I’m guessing it was Chirp.”
– Byeol suddenly got scared, grabbed Chirp, and started going kyu–kyu, and then we moved.
Gyeol, who had perched on my shoulder, said. Then, saying he’d been really surprised, he rested his head against the back of my neck. This big brother sure has it rough. I soothed Gyeol, telling him he’d done well. Then Byeol answered too.
“I told Chirp to take me to you.”
– Chirp!
Somehow, Chirp had ended up in Byeol’s arms and raised one wing. So that means…
“…Byeol, can you talk with Chirp?”
“Yeah.”
– Chirp chirp!
“Huh, what did he just say?”
“He says he wants ice cream. Chocolate, and cookies and cream, and double choco chip marshmallow.”
I see. It felt like one of those relationships where they were each saying their own thing, but still got along great. Was it Chirp’s power that made Gyeol grow? If he was connected to the White Bird, he might have a future–sight or time–type ability. But there was also a chance Byeol had some power of his own that I hadn’t identified yet. Still, for now…
“It’s dangerous, so hurry up and go home. You too, Seol. Chirp, you can take the kids back, right?”
– Chiiirp!
He answered loud and clear. Since he’d eaten the snake’s magic stone, he should have plenty of mana. Gyeol lowered himself to the ground and turned into a boy. Seol looked at him.
“You helped.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re brothers.”
There was still a bit of distance between the two of them, but I figured they’d get along just fine from here on out. They might even turn out to be an unexpectedly good match. When Byeol asked, “Is Daddy coming too?” I told him not yet, but that I’d be there soon. Just seeing the three of them standing side by side made my heart swell.
“That pink–haired child is my–.”
“You must be very tired to be spouting nonsense like that.”
I whipped my head back. Seong Hyunjae was sitting on the floor. He really did look exhausted, so I felt a little bad, but I still had to set the record straight in front of the kids.
“He has nothing to do with you.”
Strictly speaking, Gyeol was a piece of Seong Hyunjae from before the regression, so you could say he was more closely related to the man in front of me than to the current Seong Hyunjae. Still, Gyeol was Gyeol, and they were unrelated. Seong Hyunjae stared at us for a long moment, then spoke.
“You look happy.”
“The kids are all good–natured.”
Because they are. Sure, they’d just flown all the way here after sneaking out of the house, but they were still good kids. Gyeol stared right at Seong Hyunjae, then sharply turned his head away.
“Take out the Ruler’s Sword.”
Seol, who had been next to Byeol letting out soft sighs, spoke up.
“Now I’m Han Seol. I’ll put the power I have left into the sword.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?”
“I used up almost all of it just now anyway. At this rate I won’t be able to maintain it and it’ll scatter. The smaller the amount, the weaker the cohesion, so it’ll be even harder to keep it in this new body.”
I nodded and took out the Ruler’s Sword, handing it to Seol. The fiery energy flowing from Seol’s hand seeped into the blade.
[Devouring Ruler’s Sword – SSS–Rank]
The sword that had been SS–Rank had its grade raised by one. If this was all he could do with the little power he had left, he really was incredible.
“Come back alive.”
“Of course I will.”
Seol turned into a small black dragon. Byeol and Gyeol also returned to their beast forms. The fairy dragon fluttered up and landed on my shoulder.
– Dad, you know…
Gyeol snuck a glance at Seong Hyunjae and whispered softly to me.
– You have to come home safely, Dad.
“Yeah, Gyeol.”
– Dad! You said you’d buy yummy stuff when you come home!
Byeol waved her front paws brightly. I laughed and told her that if she listened well and stayed put, I’d buy her a ton. With Chirp in the middle, the three kids disappeared. In an instant, everything around me fell silent. Feeling the emptiness wash over me, I looked at the spot where the snake had died.
“He should be showing up any moment now.”
The subordinate had died. And it was from a powerful L–Rank lineage of snakes. In other words, the conditions were now in place for the snake’s master, the King of Predation, to appear personally. Seong Hyunjae got to his feet. I tossed him a stamina potion.
“You can’t lie to kids.”
“I’ll go back. This time I’m going to raise them properly until they graduate college.”
I was going to fill their lives with as many happy times as I could. Rumble– the mana in the space quaked. It shuddered violently, as if it felt fear. I took a deep breath and looked to the side, to where the achievement reward box had been.
[Reward distribution complete]
A single pure white spear was embedded there. Time to flip the board.
–TL Notes–
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