Dragon Poor

Chapter 304

[Companion!]

Kim Seon-Hyeok suddenly came back to his senses at the urgent thought that rang through his mind.

Swuk, swuk.

Like snakes flicking their tongues, hundreds of black tentacles were writhing right in front of his eyes. Every single one that simply swiped at him corroded his mind and rotted his body. They were the results of a terrible curse.

When did this…

He didn’t have the room or the time to get out.

“Hup.”

Instead of trying to forcefully pull himself out, he took a deep breath. In an instant, embers gathered at the War Dragon’s snout, then it became bright red flames, and burnt all the tentacles.

“Hyung-nim!”

The Warrior ran through the fluttering black ashes. 

“Are you alright?!”

[The watcher who watched the crouched darkness; the shackles that bound the ferocious beast. The Holy Sword was the seal that safeguarded against the Fragments of Chaos.]

He heard Marek’s words as it flashed through his mind once again. 

[What do you think it means when the seal is still intact, yet the imprisoned Fragment of Chaos has been released into the world? The seal wasn’t broken. The door was unlocked and then pushed wide open.]

Marek had said the Warrior was the culprit who had released the Fragments of Chaos into the world.

[The Demon King hadn’t called Chaos. It was Chaos that had made the Demon King. And before that, the Warrior had picked up the Holy Sword.]

The adversary summoned the adversary, and the Demon King had created the Warrior as his adversary. Those were the truths that Kim Seon-Hyeok knew.

However, Marek had said it was a lie. 

It was the Warrior who had awakened first, and it was the Warrior who had made it possible for the Demon King to become complete. 

[The decision is yours. It’s up to you to decide whether your sworn brother knew everything or he didn’t know anything or if he had extenuating circumstances. It is up to you to judge and decide.]

“Hyung-nim?”

The Warrior’s face didn’t match the power he possessed. 

[However, whichever you choose, keep this in mind.]

There wasn't any pretense to be found anywhere in the Warrior’s foolishly innocent eyes that were expressing concern for him.

[When the battle is over, that is the moment you should be most careful.]

“Hyung-nim! Wake up! Focus!”

In an instant, the Warrior pushed him away and swung his Holy Sword. Hundreds of tentacles that had been rushing at Seon-Hyeok melted away with that single stroke. 

Considering how in the past, the Warrior had once struggled against the Demon King, this was a remarkable growth.

It was only natural that the Warrior’s power wasn’t the same as before since there was no better hunting ground than here for the Holy Sword that fed on darkness and demonic energy and its master. 

[I will tell you one more thing. In this world, there can’t be anything that feeds on demonic energy and Chaos.]

But now, Marek’s voice, that he thought had been completely cut off, was telling him that even that wasn’t true.

[If it seemed like that, it must have been because while the Holy Sword was fulfilling its purpose as a seal, it would connect with the increasingly stabilizing Lord of Divinity, who is outside the boundary. Originally, Divinity and its followers shouldn’t exist in this world but the only reason they were able to perform miracles was because of the power granted to only Divinity, the master of the seal.]

Kim Seon-Hyeok couldn’t refute Marek’s words.

Perhaps even he himself knew it. If it was really possible to get rid of the demonic energy by eating it, there was no need to leave room for strife under the guise of sealing. All this confusion wouldn’t have occurred if he had eaten it in the first place. 

From start to finish, everything was a lie.

Nevertheless, Kim Seon-Hyeok couldn’t completely abandon his trust in the Warrior. At least, not until he saw the Warrior devour the Fragment of Chaos Edda had extracted at the end of a fierce battle.

Kyaaaaaaaaaa.

Edda tore off a piece of Chaos from within the huge body of Chaos and threw that small Fragment into the air. 

[Companion!]

“I got it!”

Although his brain was clouded with all sorts of other thoughts, at the very least, Kim Seon-Hyeok focused on the battle. He instinctively recognized that right now, they were at an important crossroads that would determine the outcome of the battle.

Grrrrrr.

A dazzling light gathered at the tip of Edda’s snout and flames flowed between the War Dragon’s teeth. But before Edda and he could release the breath they had gathered, the Warrior moved first. 

Ta. 

A movement unlike anything he had seen before; by the time Kim Seon-Hyeok noticed the Warrior’s sudden action, the Holy Sword had already pierced through the Fragment of Chaos.

Keeeeeeeeee.

Beating like a heart, the unsightly lump let out a wail.

Keeeeeeeeee.

The Fragment of Chaos began to abruptly shrink as black energy flowed in streams from the area pierced by the Holy Sword. 

Just when that huge mass became smaller than a young child’s fist after shrinking for a long time, a powerful white light erupted from the Warrior. 

“Ahhhh.”

The Warrior’s face was shockingly unfamiliar as it turned slack and dazed as if drunk in ecstasy. 

The whites of his eyes were oddly shiny and there was nothing but incomprehensible longing in his eyes. The corners of his lips curled up; they looked crooked as if sneering at something. 

But that small twist of his lips were soon covered by the divine light and couldn’t be seen any longer. The pure white light surrounding the Warrior only grew stronger. 

And when the light finally disappeared, the Warrior had a completely different appearance from before. 

The pure white wings sprouting from his back were like those of an angel, and the Holy light surrounding his entire body was the epitome of celestialness itself. 

“Hyung-nim, if you and the Dragon will tear apart the Fragments of Chaos, I’ll deal with them!”

After slowly noticing the changes to his body, the Warrior grinned, and then returned back to his usual self and shouting flippantly.

“Quickly! If we don’t hurry, it’ll disperse and escape!”

The Warrior didn’t look any different from usual as he showed an anxious appearance like an impatient child.

“There’s only four left now!”

The Warrior was constantly whining; at that moment, a telegram he had seen just before he left the Imperial Capital suddenly flashed through Kim Seon-Hyeok’s mind. 

‘At first, I thought the Warrior couldn’t overcome the expectations of the soldiers and had gone mad. But that wasn’t it, sir. The Warrior was so calm and it seemed as though he had overcome his mental crisis through the prophecy.’ 

It was a message sent by the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Expeditionary Force that had gone to the Holy Kingdom.

‘However, the change was so dramatic that in my eyes, it was as if the Warrior had become a different person.’

It was only then that Kim Seon-Hyeok realized the identity of the sense of incongruity.

“Edda.”

It was a voice so low that no one would have heard it if they didn’t pay attention to it. But, it was enough to reach his Companion that shared his soul.

“Listen to me very carefully.”

He quickly explained what he had heard from Marek. 

[Perhaps, even the repeated deaths and resurrections were all a plan to kill the Warrior’s soul without him realizing it.]

Edda said that the Warrior whose soul had been damaged by repeated death and resurrection was the most suitable person to be incarnated.

Kim Seon-Hyeok wasn’t foolish, nor was he soft enough to turn a blind eye until the end when everything pointed to one truth.

[Seems like he has finally gotten rid of the delusion in his heart.]

“If he forcibly took Joon-Min’s body…”

Even if his insides were rotting and bruised, Kim Seon-Hyeok never forgot what he had to do.

“I will do everything I can to prevent him from returning to this world.”

Now was the time to break down everything that stood in his way.

***

“It’s over now.”

Marek spoke as he watched the battle from afar.

Shortly after Chaos lost one of the five Fragments that made up its body, the entire world tilted perfectly. Chaos could no longer respond properly to its enemies, and as it was torn apart, it lost the Fragments that were no different than its heart, piece by piece.

Finally, the Darkness that had swallowed the Holy Kingdom and threatened the continent completely disappeared.

“Ambiguous. It’s ambiguous.”

The Central Adjuster clicked his tongue as he saw the last bit of Darkness dissipate.

The Warrior had tried his hardest to take the Fragments of Chaos for himself, but the Dragon and her Companion didn’t allow that to happen. As a result, the Warrior had only succeeded in taking one other piece, excluding the first he had taken.

“Of the five pieces, only two were taken by the Lord of Divinity. It’s not enough to say that he’s achieved his original purpose, but it’s ambiguous to say that he hadn’t achieved it,since he took more than the one piece he originally had.”

The Central Adjuster looked at the Transcendentals standing on the battlefield with unfathomable eyes. 

“Now, what are you going to do, Lord of Divinity.”

Marek interrupted the Adjuster. 

“No. No.”

The Adjuster cocked his head at Marek’s abrupt words.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not the Warrior or the Lord of Divinity who will decide what happens next.”

Marek bared his teeth as he sneered at the Adjuster. 

“The Dragon and her Companion will be the ones deciding everything in the future.”

Just as he said, the Warrior spread out his two pairs of wings, but unlike his splendid appearance, he was hesitant and unable to take any action first.

“That man is very unlucky. It’s a pity that it’s this generation’s Dragon and her Companion who stands in front of him.”

Marek clicked his tongue as he spoke. Then, he turned around. 

“You won’t stay and watch till the end?”

When Marek seemed like he would be leaving immediately, the Adjuster stopped him.

“You really are stupid. You still don’t get it?”

Despite the blatant ridicule, the Adjuster’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

“I really don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

Marek clicked his tongue.

“Whether the Lord of Divinity returns to this world or the other Transcendentals remain in this world is no longer under their control.”

The Adjuster’s eyes widened bit by bit until in the end, they were wide open.

“I’m saying that if the Transcendentals who had been pushed out of the borders of this world want to live here again, then they need permission from the Dragon and her Companion.”

Marek spoke firmly.

“And from what I’m seeing, even if it’s different for the others, the Lord of Divinity will not be able to return to this land.”

As soon as he finished, a pure white light rose from the battlefield where the Darkness had disappeared. However, the white light that was soaring into the sky was overwhelmed by a dazzling streak and disappeared.

From within, a scream of pain erupted.

***

“Why? Why?!”

The appearance of the Warrior still seemed holy and innocent as he flapped his wings, trying to soar into the sky, while slumped on the ground.

“Didn’t I tell you that I could handle the Fragments of Chaos? Is it that you can’t trust me?!”

The Warrior trembled as if he had been betrayed, but there wasn’t any compassion, let alone even the slightest respect in Kim Seon-Hyeok’s eyes as he looked at the absolutely perfect divinity.

“Hyung-nim! Why are you doing this to me? I’m Park Joon-Min! Your younger brother, Park Joon-Min!”

The Warrior desperately tried to get up as he resisted the golden streak holding him down, but in front of the mighty Dragon’s strength, the white light surrounding the Warrior was powerless.

“Just why?!”

“Since when?”

Kim Seon-Hyeok asked coldly as he watched the Warrior shouting furiously. 

“When did you replace Joon-Min?”

“What do you mean…”

The Warrior had a really sad expression on his face as if he was victimized. 

“Are you a being from beyond the border? Or are you Balmung?”

“Hyung-nim. I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding. Why don’t you listen to me…”

Kim Seon-Hyeok had no intention of listening to the Warrior. 

“Edda.”

Edda, who had been waiting since the beginning, let out a powerful breath. It was the Dragon’s breath that had annihilated even the Fragments of Chaos.

“Hy, hyung-nim!”

There was no way a mere human could withstand such a powerful attack. The Warrior called up an armor and shield made of light, but it was all in vain as it melted in the face of the golden breath. In the end, even the Warrior melted. 

However, the Warrior was quickly revived as if it had never happened with his power of resurrection.

“Hyung-nim! Why?!”

The Dragon’s breath engulfed the Warrior’s body once again.

“Please, listen to…”

“Just what is the problem…”

“Gak!”

“Stop! Stop!”

The Warrior came back to life again and again, and Edda killed the Warrior again and again.

“Once you drop to level 1, whatever will come out, will come out.”