Chapter 266: Chapter 266
Chapter 266: Era of Dragons (8)
The battle between Kim Minwoo and the Dragon Lord.
Seeing this, the Sword Saint gritted his teeth and turned away.
As he moved, the Fist King, Divine Spear, and Poison Demon, carrying the group, threw themselves toward the portal without delay.
The veterans, who had survived countless battlefields, knew better than anyone that hesitation in this moment would only lead to a pointless death for everyone.
Even as the group plunged into the portal, Archaia's gaze remained fixed on Kim Minwoo.
The sounds of the world were erased.
No, it was more accurate to say that a single sound had swallowed all other noise.
The Mythical rank demonic sword, Hell Rhapsody.
The dissonance shrieked by the blade scraped against the soul itself, not the eardrums.
Sword and fist collided.
This was no clash of simple physical force.
It was a head-on collision between the absolute concept of Death and the transcendent vitality of a Dragon.
A fleeting moment divided into hundreds, thousands of fractions.
In that split second, blood clots burst from Kim Minwoo's mouth with every clash of the sword.
The power of the Death Emperor, forcefully crammed into a human vessel, incinerated Kim Minwoo's blood vessels and tore apart his muscles with every swing.
[The body cannot withstand the weight of divinity!]
[Life force is rapidly depleting!]
Kim Minwoo clenched his teeth.
'If I don't pull this off, I die.'
It was the greatest sense of crisis he had felt since possessing this body.
It was also the greatest thrill, like performing on a tightrope.
One mistake, a single lapse in judgment, and his life would be forfeit.
The Dragon Lord was just that chillingly strong.
Over fifty thousand years.
On top of that, a body that had crammed in numerous lives, including his own kin, was a monstrosity that even a god could not underestimate.
Kim Minwoo's figure was blasted back like a cannonball.
Every bone in his body screamed, and the shock, unbearable even with Descent, shook his internal organs.
Yet, a strange smile hung on Kim Minwoo's lips as he spat out blood.
His senses were honed to a razor's edge in this extreme crisis.
He realized why that small, white fist was heavy enough to shatter a planet.
And why it was so fast, as if ignoring mass altogether.
It wasn't simply heavy because he had compressed his body.
The bastard had perfectly crumpled the true body of a Primordial Dragon, larger than a mountain range, into the form of that small child.
'Conceptual Compression.'
Erasing the illusion of volume, an extreme condensation leaving only the density of existence.
That was why it was fast.
It didn't cut through the atmosphere; rather, overwhelming mass crushed and distorted space-time itself.
Resistance could not exist.
Like a black hole sucking in even light, the bastard’s fist slid in, riding the curvature of space.
An embodiment of absolute violence mocking the laws of physics.
That was the monster's true identity.
'So it can be used like that.'
Delight outweighed fear.
It was like the thrill of discovering a hidden pattern in a boss monster that seemed impossible to clear.
His gamer instincts boiled.
As if in response to that realization, the Mythical Demonic Sword 'Hell Rhapsody' in his hand shrieked a tearing dissonance.
A performance from the Demon Realm that gnawed at the soul.
Under normal circumstances, he would have scattered this sound to confuse the enemy, but Kim Minwoo had a different idea now.
'Don't let it scatter.'
If the bastard compressed his body...
He would compress the sound, this vibration of ruin.
Adding the power of death to it.
[You have obtained a bizarre realization!]
[Utilization of 'Compression' expands!]
[Fixing an intangible concept to a tangible object.]
[Using Skill, Compression (EX)!]
[Target: 'Dissonance, and Death.']
The wave of sound, which had been trying to tear through space and spread, was forcibly crammed into the blade.
When sound is trapped, it becomes vibration.
And when vibration is condensed to the limit, it becomes destruction.
The sword went beyond being dyed black; it transformed into something resembling a pitch-black 'hole'.
Unable to withstand it, the space around the sword crumbled, generating black noise.
A sword of absolute silence that erased even sound.
But inside, thousands, tens of thousands of death screams were boiling like a bomb on the verge of explosion, intense enough that even a Mythical rank item struggled to endure it.
Kim Minwoo let out a short breath.
The grip holding the sword was scorching hot as if burning, yet simultaneously cold like a freezing winter.
As he raised his head, his eyes met the Dragon Lord’s, whose expression showed pure interest.
As if the human imitating his authority was laughable, or perhaps commendable.
"You learn pretty fast? For my meal."
"I told you. The raid is ongoing."
Kim Minwoo readjusted his grip on the sword.
The tip, rippling with black noise, aimed at the Dragon Lord's heart.
It was time to show it.
The performance of ruin, allowed only once a month.
[Item Effect, 'Finale' is unleashed!]
Kim Minwoo swung the sword.
The dissonance forcibly crumpled into the blade was released all at once.
It was not a simple slash.
A storm of silence swallowing every sound in the world.
It was a chilling requiem singing of death.
[The compressed ‘Requiem of Death’ sweeps forward!]
[Forcibly ceases all vital activity!]
Archaia’s eyes widened.
The black storm swallowed the Dragon Lord's small body.
Into the dragon scales that boasted absolute defense, the melody of death annihilating life dug in like jagged saw blades.
The sky turned black, and the earth screamed.
It was, truly, a scene fitting for a finale.
The Dragon Lord's scales, which seemed impenetrable, split open.
It was not merely a cut.
The time of the wounded area itself was locked into ‘Death’.
Cells trying to regenerate became black smoke and crumbled away.
Archaia’s eyes widened into circles.
For the first time, an emotion called ‘bewilderment’ flashed across the boy’s face.
This wasn't just a sting.
A crack had formed in his immortality.
An indelible scar had been carved.
[Achieved Unfathomable Achievement...]
Kim Minwoo coughed out a laugh mixed with blood.
The Mythical weapon, Divine Descent, and the strike on which he had bet everything, had reached the bastard.
However, the price was harsh.
His right arm, still gripping the sword, twisted grotesquely.
[Descent is forcibly deactivated.]
The pitch-black aura wrapping his body drained away like the tide.
At the same time, a sense of powerlessness washed over him, as if his entire body were being crushed.
Floating in mid-air, Kim Minwoo saw Archaia’s expression.
The bewilderment had vanished in an instant.
In its place, a grotesquely deep interest and killing intent filled the void.
A smile made more cruel by its innocence.
“That... really hurt. So...”
There was no time to react.
Archaia's fist slammed into Kim Minwoo's abdomen.
Along with the pain of his innards twisting, the world spun.
His body was blasted away like a cannonball.
It was not by his own will.
It was a forced flight caused by overwhelming violence.
At the end of his trajectory lay the blue, rippling dimensional portal.
“Fascinating. Anyway, thanks to Dad, I made a very interesting connection. Thanks, Dad!”
Archaia waved his hand at the sky.
It was the demeanor of an innocent child.
The vibration in the air grew violent.
It was not mere dissatisfaction.
It was unmistakable rage.
The Outer God's will sparked like red lightning, striking Archaia's ears.
An absolute command that a creation could not refuse: tear through the dimension immediately, chase them down, and eradicate their very lineage before the portal’s coordinates vanished completely.
The smile vanished from the boy's face.
The innocence from moments ago was nowhere to be found.
From those depths, a primeval ferocity crawled out. Archaia tilted his head and glared at the empty air.
“Just because I call you Dad... do you think you’re something special? You’re just a worm without a body...”
The atmosphere froze.
The killing intent was chilling enough to make even the Outer God's rage falter for a moment.
Archaia nonchalantly picked his ear and muttered in a low voice.
“Cut it out. Before I flip the table. I kept my promise. I offered high-quality tributes regularly. You shouldn't treat me . Right?”
It was not mere rebellion.
A mad dog that even an Outer God could not leash stood there.
“Ah, don't worry. I'll deliver him right in front of you, Dad. I have that much flexibility, at least. So, no more nagging, okay?"
The Lord grinned as he looked at Elaudia.
The first sensation upon opening his eyes was the pungent scent of disinfectant stinging his nose.
As his blurry vision gradually found focus, a white ceiling came into view. Every muscle in his body screamed, but the sensation of being alive was vivid.
Along with a shout that battered his eardrums, his vision flipped violently.
It was Sword Saint Seo Jinchul.
Behind him, the Fist King and Divine Spear, wrapped tightly in bandages, rushed in with tearful expressions.
“You foolish rascal! Where do you think you are, staying behind alone!”
“I’m glad you’re alive, truly glad...”
Kim Minwoo turned his head at the cool energy weighing down on his body.
Beside the bed stood Han Siah.
Pure white healing energy flowed ceaselessly from her hands, but her expression was more savage than a Reaper's.
“...Ms. Siah? Why are you looking at me so scarl...”
“Do not move. If you try to disappear from my sight again, I will break your legs to keep you tied to my side.”
Her words were harsh, but her fingertips pouring out mana trembled minutely.
Kim Minwoo smiled bitterly and obediently buried his head in the pillow.
A blue System window rose in the corner of his vision, as if it had been waiting.
[Successfully returned to the dimension.]
[Settling into Earth's orbit.]
[Starting achievement settlement!]
Messages poured down like a waterfall.
However, Kim Minwoo's gaze was fixed on a single phrase.
[Achieved Unfathomable Achievement, ‘One Who Tore Immortality’!]
[Part of Dragon Lord Archaia's body has been destroyed.]
[As a price, you have plundered a portion of the ‘Essence of the Primordial Dragon’ containing the target's origin!]
[It is an item from the ‘Era of Dragons’.]
[Consuming Achievement Points #$@@! to %@! %^^@!^*@ $%!!…….]
[It is an item from the ‘Era of Dragons’.]
[You can acquire the Essence of the Primordial Dragon by consuming 842 Achievement Points.]
[Would you like to acquire it?]
He definitely had about 100 Achievement Points when he left.
After entering the Era of Dragons, not much time passed before the Dragon Lord appeared and smashed everything.
“...How much time has passed on Earth since we left?”
“It has been a week. It seems the flow of time there and here is different. I remember we definitely didn't stay that long...”
He nodded at the Sword Saint's words.
So that must be why Achievement Points had accumulated.
But more important than that was...
‘There’s no way this is worth only 842 points.’
Wasn't it the Essence of a Primordial Dragon?
Yet it was letting him acquire it by matching the price exactly to his last digit of possessed points?
‘...I should get it first, right?’
[Consuming all Achievement Points!]
[You have acquired the Essence of the Primordial Dragon!]
[Currently processing...]
[Total of 3 days required for delivery!]
Leaving the messages behind, Kim Minwoo stared at the scenery of Seoul visible outside the window.
The city center looked peaceful.
However, he knew instinctively.
There was no way that crazy dragon just let him go.
The bastard definitely said it was ‘fun’.
The obsession of a child who found a toy was not something that could be blocked by a dimensional wall.
Rather, it was the beginning.
The Era of Dragons was not sealed inside a closed dimension.
Riding the medium called Kim Minwoo, it had merely begun to infect the new stage called Earth across dimensions.
Kim Minwoo's eyes shone coolly.
Before the bastard came, he had to become a monster first.