Chapter 250: Madness, Adoration, and Truth (12)

- That's right, stop bleeding and passing out!

The Fire of Destruction roared in response to Cale's words, but he once again ignored it. Instead, he recalled the situations in which he had used his power so far.

"In Xiaolen, I did fight quite a bit."

He had been on the front lines several times. And also in the Central Plains...

"Yes, I fought."

But Cale realized where he had really been focusing his power all this time.

"Dead Mana!"

So far, on his journey through Xiaolen and the Central Plains, Cale had focused on purifying or containing Dead Mana. And the occasion when he had used the most power was...

"The sea trying to engulf Hainan."

A huge Tsunami had threatened to engulf the entire island, including the Blood Cult, after the Purple Blood Family had their way. Cale had to use a tremendous amount of power to contain it. Although, thanks to that, he was able to obtain the World Tree Seed from Aipotu.

"...Actually, I haven't had many close combat fights."

Although he had fought quite a bit against White Star on the front lines. Lately, he had stayed in the rear or even on the front lines, he had stayed away from the fight.

- Hahaha!

Cale stepped forward, drawn by the crystal-clear laughter of Sky Eating Water.

Sisko.

She was estimated to rank in the middle among the Ten Dragon Gods. She possessed the Struggle Attribute and was the most experienced combat dragon of all known. That's why Cale took her as a reference.

'Because the Dragons in this world are supposed to be stronger than normal Dragons.'

Rasheel had been gravely injured fighting Kendall, the last of the Ten Dragon Gods. It was the first time Cale had seen Rasheel get injured so badly, despite having fought together several times. Of course, Rasheel had won.

'But it was a victory with great wounds.'

To Cale, who loved overwhelming fights, it seemed difficult to fight against the Purple Blood Hunters in that way.

"Mmm."

Suddenly, the faces of Team Leader Sui Khan and Choi Jung Soo came to mind.

"Tsk."

Cale clicked his tongue silently. So far, those two had not directly participated in Aipotu. Although it was also because they had taken care of minor tasks.

'The Wanderers and the God of War. They've become busier since those two appeared.'

And they would get even busier. Because only they could obtain information about the situation of the God's Domain, including the God of Death.

"Crouch-"

Cale stopped and looked down.

Kwaang!

Bang!

Eight white snakes, with white chains sinking deep into the ground, bound the Dragon Sisko.

Kuung!

Her body was dragged to the ground. To be more precise, she was crushed.

Sssshhh!

The water chains bound her feet and hands, dragging her to the ground, burying a considerable part of her body. Cale watched the scene. However, Sisko was not aware of it. She did not have the mental capacity to do so.

Urrrurrr-

Her power had not diminished yet. She still had strength left. But she struggled to breathe. The chains that tore and violated her territory did not break no matter how much she struck and tried to break them.

"This is-"

It was like the power of the water that guy uses.

That guy who created a tsunami bigger than nature itself!

The Dragon who now ruled the sea!

The protector of the sea that ruled the sea where the Whale Tribe disappeared.

Dragon Lord.

If he is the highest being of the Ten Divine Dragons, then it could be said that three of the Ten Divine Dragons are the next rulers after the Dragon Lord.

One the sea, another the land, and the other...

"!"

Sisko raised her head with a sudden cold sensation. She saw a huge chain approaching her. As if telling her to stop thinking nonsense, the eighth chain, the slowest one, was finally approaching her.

"Damn it!"

Sisko twisted her whole body and unleashed all the strength she had, leaving no reserve. However, her domain did not expand. On the contrary, it shrank.

Urrrr...

Instead, it concentrated and compressed even more. Just enough to cover the surface of her skin.

Urrur...

"Huuh."

Finally, she was able to catch her breath a little.

And,

Zzzt-

The chain touching her skin weakened a little.

"It works!"

At this rate, there's a chance!

"I'll escape right now!"

Escape from the domain of that guy called Cale.

Escape.

A word that didn't fit with her nature, but Sisko had no hesitation.

Because,

"It's natural to escape."

The reason she was able to survive fighting all this time was because she was good at escaping. That's why she was different from Kendall. Fighting and winning are different.

Of course, after the Catastrophe Era, there weren't many occasions to escape.

In fact, there were none. The Ten Divine Dragons were the only opponents strong enough to excite her, but they couldn't kill each other due to a law set by the Dragon Lord.

There was no one else powerful enough to make her flee, and even if there were, she wouldn't have encountered them. They were all hiding.

So, after a long time, she considered escaping.

It was then...

"It seems we have to try a little harder."

She heard a calm voice.

And...

Sssssss-

The power of the chain became stronger.

Sisko, who was crushed to the ground, swung her arms with all her might towards the approaching chain.

Kwaaaang!

A roar resounded.

Kwaang, bang, bang!

Explosions rang out continuously one after another.

However, Sisko's face distorted.

"Damn it!"

Damn it!

No matter how much I attack non-stop...

"That's completely fine!"

The chains were stronger than before. Unconsciously, Sisko looked in the direction where she had heard the voice a moment ago.

Cale.

A Human looked down at her.

'Ah.'

Sisko knew what that look meant.

When one evaluates the strength of the other.

It was similar to when she looked at people weaker than her.

'No...'

Perhaps it was a colder and more distant look.

Thanks to that, she realized, 'That human is too calm right now.'

In other words, he's not using his full potential.

He still has more room.

'And it's a lot!'

The enormous energy emanating from him. She had not yet seen the true nature of that force invading her territory. If he could channel that energy into a real attack...

'I'll die.'

No, maybe her body would even disappear into nothingness...

'...It could be possible for him to fight against the Dragon Lord- '

This Human might have the right to step into the battle ring against the supreme being, the Dragon Lord.

Cale and she locked eyes.

"Oh."

Cale let out an amazed expression.

"You have an interesting look."

Cale's pupils narrowed.

They were enemies, but Dragon Sisko clearly realized that she herself was going to lose at this moment. Despite that, there was no hesitation in that look.

A gaze that refused to yield, even when the odds were against them.

And on her face, which heard Cale's words, various expressions appeared.

Anger, frustration, amazement, desperation.

From indifference to wondering if the face was really the right one, many emotions passed, but in the end only one remained.

Jealousy.

Sisko opened her mouth as envy enveloped her completely.

"This is annoying."

There was no other choice.

She couldn't see Cale anymore.

The enormous chains closing in on her.

Finally, the slowly moving chains sped up.

Thud!

And struck her nape.

"Ugh!"

She lost consciousness instantly.

Thud!

The chain struck so hard her head sank into the ground.

So hard that she even got buried in the ground up to her head.

The earth shook around.

"Hmm."

Cale swallowed.

He only wanted to render her unconscious.

- Is Dragon's head as hard as a rock? I thought it would break, but it seems it just sank a little.

He thought as he listened to Sky Eating Water's cruel voice.

'Have I become much stronger than I thought?'

Due to that thought, he poorly controlled his strength and ended up embedding Sisko's head and body into the ground.

Cale looked at Sisko with an inexplicable sense of confusion.

Somehow, the enormous eight chains vanished, seeped into the earth.

As a result, the earth turned muddy and swampy, and Sisko was still buried in it.

"Whew."

Archie of the Whale Tribe sighed at seeing this from afar.

Not just him. Those who witnessed the spectacle created by Cale couldn't help but show a stunned expression.

Especially the combat team members who were close to the ice wall realized anew.

"...It was our Commander who grabbed the White Star and stopped the coming of God."

They remembered the achievement created by Cale that they had forgotten, or rather, had stopped thinking about for a moment.

"Haha."

Archie turned, startled, and widened his eyes in surprise. Clopeh Sekka, that crazy one, was smiling, holding a video communication device with both hands. Archie was going to say something about it, but he gave up.

'Everyone is crazy.'

Archie, who had rushed out because his lady, Witira, seemed to be furious, wasn't angry at all. He was simply amazed to see Cale defeat the enemy, even a powerful dragon, and force it to the ground.

'Isn't it enough to catch anything that moves?'

Just then, another rumble resounded.

"!"

Archie's gaze shifted from Cale to a closer place, where dust and snow mingled at the explosion site.

'There!'

Where allies and enemies, except Cale, were mingling. The place where the Ancient Dragon and the Half-Blood Dragon had been fighting before...

Flutter!

Something enormous tore through the dust cloud.

- Human!

Cale saw it too.

"...What is that?"

Unknowingly, he let out the words and opened his mouth in surprise.

Flutter!

Something enormous rose into the sky, breaking through the dust and snow.

"Dragon..."

It's a Dragon. And Cale had never seen such a large Dragon in his life. Even the Ancient Dragon, Eruhaben, was smaller than this Dragon.

The dark crimson Dragon was incredibly fast for its size. However, the huge Dragon's eyes had a purple bruise. Seeing that the pupils had turned white, it seemed to acknowledge the existence of this Dragon.

"That Dragon-"

No, that Half-Blood Dragon-

"3rd Bishop?"

As Cale wondered, Raon's voice came.

- Human, Human!

Raon approached and spoke.

- That Half-Blood Dragon suddenly transformed!

Cale had never seen a Half-Blood Dragon turn into a Dragon. And thinking about it, the Half-Blood Dragon at the Black Castle was also humanoid before having its Dragon body.

- Human! Goldie Gramps said it!

The voice of the Ancient Dragon followed Raon's.

- A Half-Blood Dragon cannot become a Dragon as large as that one! And much less in the complete form of a Dragon! That's what he said!

- Cale, that Half-Blood Dragon is quite special. It has no Attribute, but it has grown to be larger than an Ancient Dragon.

At the moment he realized this...

"Hm?"

His eyes met those of the white-eyed one. Could it be an illusion?

- Human, I'm going!

- This is bad.

But it wasn't an illusion. The Half-Blood Dragon, who even as a human had a huge size, turned into a never-before-seen huge-bodied Dragon and flew towards Cale.

Whoosh!

The wind blew with the flap of its wings. Its huge body quickly reached Cale. And it opened its mouth. Looking directly at Cale.

- Cale.

The voice of the Ancient Dragon echoed.

- It's Dragon Breath. With a body larger than an Ancient Dragon, it must know how to use Dragon Breath.

Ah. Cale realized why the Attribute-less Half-Blood Dragon was so strong.

Dragon Breath.

One of the best attacks a Dragon can use.

- It's definitely trying to save the Dragon you caught. It probably plans to escape with the Dragon while attacking you.

Paff!

A bright light shone beside Cale.

"I'll block it."

The Ancient Dragon arrived in an instant. And a golden light shone around him.

- Human, I'll do it too!

Raon, now transparent, also approached, exhaling black mana. The young Dragon and the rejuvenated Dragon were anxious.

"Hmm."

However, Cale's expression was a bit strange. When Eruhaben fixed his gaze on it, he asked:

"...Why that expression?"

Cale opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

"Is it trying to use Dragon Breath?"

He was looking at the face of the Half-Blood Dragon. The huge Dragon opened its mouth and flew towards Cale.

However, it didn't seem like it was about to use Dragon Breath. Its open mouth...

"Kuaaaaah!"

A roar echoed from there. And Raon's mouth opened.

"Eh?"

The young Dragon tilted its head. And at that moment, the Ancient Dragon froze.

Kaboom!

The huge Dragon descended rapidly in front of Cale. As soon as its huge body landed, the ground shook so much Cale lost balance.

- Human, I'll hold you!

Raon's two invisible front paws grabbed Cale's arms, but Cale didn't have time to react.

'What's going on?'

What is this Half-Blood Dragon doing now?

Cale's mouth opened.

Kaboom!

The huge-bodied Half-Blood Dragon slammed its head onto the ground. Then it shrunk its body as much as it could. In a clearly subservient pose, the white-eyed Half-Blood Dragon fervently shouted:

"I Betray The Dragons!"

Eh?

"I, Horns, want to join your side!"

Cale hesitated for a moment before responding to the Dragon proclaiming so boldly:

"...You have Sisko underneath you."

Sisko was buried in the mud. On top of her was, of course, the massive Half-Blood Dragon that had flattened the ground nearby when it landed.

"!"

The purple eyes of the enormous Half-Blood Dragon trembled slightly.

* * *

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]