“D-Demon Dragon…… Meras. Why is he in your world?!”
Eorin screamed as if having a fit.
Kang Hyeon-woo placed a hand on Eorin's shoulder as her entire body trembled.
She flinched.
Eorin looked at Kang Hyeon-woo.
“You went on about being great and all that, but you're quite a coward.”
“Th-th-that's not it……!”
“Calm down.”
At Kang Hyeon-woo's quiet words, Eorin stopped trembling.
“Th-thank you.”
“Panic and you'll die.”
“Die?”
“You could die to the enemy, or if you get in my way during the fight, you could die by my hand.”
“Y-you……! You bastard!”
ROOOOOOAR—!
Meras once again launched a massive fireball toward the energy field high in the sky.
KABOOM—!
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-THOOM.
A tremendous vibration and deafening blast swept over them, but the energy field remained intact.
Kang Hyeon-woo slowly moved in the direction where Meras could be seen in the distance and spoke.
“He's big. Bigger than you. What do you know about that bastard?”
“Urgh. That's only because I'm an Adult Dragon who has barely left the hatchling stage……. That bastard is an Ancient Dragon of the Red Clan who went mad!”
“Red?”
“Yes. They are an extremely warlike and insane clan. A disgrace to our Aishas.”
“Aishas?”
“We call our world Aishas.”
“I see.”
‘Are they real worlds inhabited by living beings, human or otherwise?’
Planet Ritubalu and the Aishas Continent.
Kang Hyeon-woo had been trying hard to deny it until now.
He had believed it was merely a game-like world created by some godlike, powerful being.
But now that he suddenly learned even Eorin's world had a name, his thoughts grew complicated.
“You called him mad. Why?”
“Because he suddenly began indiscriminately slaughtering the living creatures of Aishas. That was already more than twenty years ago. It is why the ceremony for me to become an Adult Dragon took longer than expected.”
Back when Eorin had still been a hatchling, she had left her lair to attend the Ancient Dragons' council and undergo the ceremony to formally become an Adult Dragon.
The Ancient Dragons had left to pursue Meras after he suddenly went mad and began slaughtering living creatures.
As a result, Eorin's lair had been left vacant for a long time.
“So that's how a warehouse ended up in your lair.”
“Hmph. How dare they use someone else's home however they please without the owner's permission? I will kill them when I meet them.”
“What happened to the pursuit of Meras?”
“We lost him in the end. We combed through the entire world as if searching for lice, but we could not find him.”
“Why did he massacre living creatures?”
“I don't know that either.”
Kang Hyeon-woo took all of Park Seong-jun's Cores out of his bag and poured them into his mouth.
[23,800 Mana restored.]
[Direct Core consumption has low recovery efficiency.]
[Use refined Cores or a Recovery Station…….]
“Lena. Beast.”
“I think he's near that red Dragon. The Mana is fluctuating too much for me to pinpoint his exact location.”
“So we have to go after all. Lena. You go back now.”
“……What?”
Lena's eyes widened as she questioned him.
“Don't make me say it twice.”
“N-no! Why should I?”
“We were traveling together to find Beast. If he's up ahead, I don't need you anymore.”
“B-but……!”
“You bastard. Why are you so twisted? What do you think will happen if you leave a child like this alone out there……?!”
Eorin shouted while biting her lip.
“First, Lena isn't a child. She's a Half-Android. Besides, with the magic she's learned so far, she can easily survive in the wasteland.”
She did not get tired, nor did she need food.
Of everyone Kang Hyeon-woo had encountered in his life, he thought Lena was the best at using magic after himself.
“Th-then, did you teach me magic just for this?”
“I didn't teach you. You learned it.”
“No! No! I'm going with you!”
Lena shook her head as she shouted.
Kang Hyeon-woo let out a small sigh.
“I might die today.”
“……What?”
“There's a good chance I'll die one way or another. Whether it's because of that Dragon or Beast.”
“You're going to die?”
“Even if I survive, I won't be wandering around like this anymore. Which means I won't need you anymore.”
Meras was powerful enough to frighten Eorin.
Even if Kang Hyeon-woo avoided fighting the Dragon, his meeting with Park Seong-jun still remained.
Once the buff was removed, the life Kang Hyeon-woo had maintained through Mana would return to its original state.
The elderly City Lords he had met thus far had lived for more than a hundred years, but their lives had been sustained by the power of potions and Cores.
Since he had not consumed a potion that maintained his Life Force, there was also a possibility that he would age rapidly once the buff was removed.
“Th-then we can just leave! Without meeting Mister Bear……!”
“I need to hear his reasons.”
That was the one thing that had kept him alive until now.
Why had he betrayed humanity?
Why had he been running away all this time?
Why hadn't he told Kang Hyeon-woo anything?
Why hadn't he asked his friend for help?
Lena bit her lip and shook her head.
“From now on, I'll do what I want. So I'm coming with you.”
Kang Hyeon-woo looked at Lena for a moment before turning his gaze forward.
“It's your choice. None of my business, then.”
Kang Hyeon-woo's group advanced toward the distant Dragon.
***
ROOOOOOOOOAR—!
KABOOOOOM—!
The closer they got, the more they could appreciate Meras's sheer size.
Meras's red body was on a completely different scale from Eorin, whom Kang Hyeon-woo had seen at the lair.
The Dragon, as large as an ordinary building, was going berserk and smashing every nearby building in sight.
Eorin stepped forward resolutely.
“ME-RAS!”
Eorin's Mana-infused voice resounded throughout Fort Busan Marina and downtown Busan.
He stopped dead.
The raging Red Dragon Meras turned his gaze toward Kang Hyeon-woo's group while hovering in midair.
“……A child of the Silver Clan?”
A low voice that sounded thick with phlegm rolled toward them like thunder.
“I am Ionen, a member of the Silver Clan who has formally completed the Adult Dragon ceremony!”
At Eorin's words, Meras tilted his head.
“Adult Dragon? Ionen? Meras?”
FLASH!
Meras's imposing body in the distance emitted a red light.
A man with red hair and red eyes descended to the ground about two blocks away.
“……Good.”
Eorin murmured quietly.
“When he manifests in his true body, we have absolutely no chance of winning. I will stall him for as long as I can…… so use that dimensional magic from last time and subdue him in one strike.”
Eorin spoke while recalling the battle at her lair.
“I don't do unpaid work without a contract.”
“Then make a contract with me.”
Eorin urged him in an anxious voice.
“You're not registered in the system, so a contract is meaningless. I can't even leave a star rating or review.”
“……Urgh! If you help me this time, I will help you for the rest of my life!”
“But why are your names different? What's Ionen, and Eorin is…….”
“Th-that's because Eorin is my true name! So are you going to help me or not?”
Eorin hurriedly changed the subject and pressed him.
“It's a meaningless contract, but I'll accept.”
“Meaningless?! You really are……!”
“Either way, it'll end today.”
Eorin flinched.
“It is good to meet one of my own kind.”
Meras, a burly man with red hair, approached them.
***
“Meras.”
Eorin stepped forward with a resolute expression.
“Me……ras? Who is that?”
“You are Demon Dragon Meras, are you not?!”
“Meras? Now that you mention it, the name does seem familiar.”
Meras shook his head in confusion.
“Nonsense! Did you not come here just now because you heard your name?!”
“I merely sensed a familiar flow of Mana. Hm……? But how do I know that you are of the Silver Clan?”
Meras frowned and shook his head from side to side.
“I am…… who am I? I definitely met someone in Aishas…… who was it?”
[Do not be alarmed. I am sending you a message through Mana with Dragon Tongue. Prepare yourself.]
Eorin's voice echoed inside Kang Hyeon-woo's head.
“You indiscriminately massacred the living creatures of Aishas.”
“Massacred……? Me? Why?”
“Hmph! Are you feigning ignorance?! After a long council, the Ancient Dragons decided to subdue you.”
“Ancient Dragons? Who dares……! What absurd slander!”
Meras's expression hardened.
THOOM.
An enormous amount of Mana erupted from Meras.
A tangible red aura pressed heavily down upon the street.
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE.
The surrounding buildings could not withstand it and began crumbling away little by little.
“Judging from your state, it is clear you have gone mad. From this moment, I cast you out from our kind!”
‘Phase Intervention.’
‘Limit Magic, Reality Manipulation.’
‘Absolute Shield.’
‘Magic Amplification.’
‘Mana Control.’
The moment Eorin finished speaking, Kang Hyeon-woo unleashed a succession of spells.
THOOOM—!
A white hemispherical phase overlaid the surrounding area.
CRACK—!
The space inside the phase split apart in several directions like shattering glass.
Wrapped in a piercingly bright white shield, Kang Hyeon-woo cast another spell.
‘Hell Fire.’
FWOOOOOSH—!
Dozens of crimson fireballs appeared around Kang Hyeon-woo.
Lena, surrounded by the same white shield as Kang Hyeon-woo, shouted.
“Mister! Use Meteor!”
“Can't. Think about the energy field covering the city.”
“Ah……!”
Fireballs immediately formed around Lena as well.
“Dragon Tongue. Ignition of Light!”
“Dragon Tongue. Winds of Destruction!”
Eorin's clear voice rang out.
The glass-shattered space focused the explosions of Hell Fire and the fireballs onto a single point where Meras stood.
Laser-like clusters of light formed around Eorin and were sucked into that same point.
Blade-like winds swept in and covered it from above.
Every spell converged upon a single point.
FLASH!
RRRRRRRRRRRRUMBLE———!
The ground thundered and the air churned.
KRAAAAAASH—!
The shockwave that leaked outside the phase cleanly erased the surrounding buildings.
Kang Hyeon-woo continuously controlled his Mana and manipulated reality, redirecting the aftereffects of the shockwave elsewhere.
‘Hell Fire.’
At the center of the explosion, red and white light mingled together.
Kang Hyeon-woo created additional Hell Fire and hurled it at Meras.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
The explosions continued for dozens of seconds.
“Did we get him?”
Eorin murmured with an excited expression.
Through the misaligned view inside the fragmented phase, the red-haired man emerged with a face like a malevolent spirit.
“How dare you…….”
CRACK-.
CRRACK— CRAAACK.
The shattered reality within the separated phase Kang Hyeon-woo had created began breaking apart little by little.
SNAP-!
CRUMBLE-!
Reality Manipulation broke apart, and Meras, still inside the separated phase, turned his head and loosened his body. His clothes were scorched and torn, but he was otherwise completely unharmed.
“You dare challenge this great one with such childish magic?!”
KABOOM—!
As Meras concentrated his Mana, the ground around him caved in.
“Now move aside!”
Eorin rose high into the sky.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE.
FLASH!
Eorin's body transformed amid a silver flash.
KABOOM—!
Having returned to her Dragon form, Eorin opened her mouth wide.
“This is punishment for a Demon Dragon!”
Silver light gathered around Eorin's mouth.
WHOOOOOOOOOM—!
“Lena. Back.”
‘Blink.’
Kang Hyeon-woo and Lena moved far away from Meras.
“Mister! What do we do?”
“Keep attacking.”
‘Control Weather.’
RRRUMBLE.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky above the area covered by the phase.
Lena looked at the dark clouds and shouted.
“Mister. You can't summon a meteor!”
“It's a little more troublesome, but as long as I can handle the Mana drain, I just need to use my head.”
‘Imprisonment.’
CLANG-!
Chains of light appeared around Meras.
‘Limit Magic, Reality Manipulation.’
The phase split apart once again, fragmenting their view.
‘Disintegrate.’
“You bastards!”
Sensing danger, Meras released Polymorph and began transforming back into his true body.
“Now!”
Timing it with Meras's transformation into a Dragon, a massive silver flash burst from Eorin's mouth and slammed down upon him.
“Ah…… It's beautiful.”
Lena suddenly murmured with a dazed expression.
A gigantic silver Dragon floated in the sky.
A silver laser fired from the Dragon's mouth and slammed into the ground.
Immediately afterward, a spear of light descended through the dark clouds Kang Hyeon-woo had created amid a thick white flash.
The instant the white and silver flashes reached Meras in the middle of his transformation.
FLASH!
“AAAAAAH!”
Lena was thrown backward by the dazzling explosion.
“Blink!”
While flying backward, Lena disappeared behind Kang Hyeon-woo and avoided the aftershock.
ROOOOOOOOM.
The silver beam pouring from Eorin's mouth continued hammering Meras as his body gradually grew larger.
Then it happened.
CRACK-!
An iridescent energy field enveloped Meras's body as he was returning to his Dragon form.
A violet flash exploded in the sky above Eorin.
‘……!’
Kang Hyeon-woo's eyes widened at the sight.
A shadow burst from within the flash and shot toward Eorin as she unleashed her Breath.
KRA-BOOM-!
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAR——!
With a deafening blast that shook the sky, Eorin plummeted toward the ground.
THOOOOOM—!
“Big Sis! No! Blink!”
Lena instantly disappeared toward the spot where Eorin had fallen.
Kang Hyeon-woo's gaze remained fixed on the sky where Eorin had been.
“It's been a while!”
A muscular man with purple hair and a massive two-handed axe strapped to his back shouted toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
He was a white man with a long sword scar across his face.
Kang Hyeon-woo frowned and spoke.
“Long time no see, Asimov. No, Slaughterer.”
“Has it been a hundred years since we saw each other in the Final Dungeon?”
“Seems so.”
“I'm glad to see one of our Seven Heroes again after so long…… but I won't tolerate even you interfering with the operation. You'll have to be punished.”
FLASH!
With a violet flash, Asimov flew toward Kang Hyeon-woo at tremendous speed.