Silver Dragon Chronicle
Episode 29
Chapter 8. What Happened in Sichuan
Kwagagagagagagang!
With a powerful explosion that seemed to shake the world, steam rose thickly like fog in the surroundings due to the aftershock of the clash between extreme fire energy and extreme ice energy.
Steam had formed several times already from the two combatants' collisions, but this time, the range was beyond imagination. It covered the entirety of Kunlun Mountain.
In any case, Unwonnam and Iseolhye's faces turned pale.
This was simply impossible to view as a fight between humans.
"Urk... What in the world..."
As Iseolhye muttered with an expression of disbelief, Unwonnam spoke with a stiff face.
"Absolutes... It is like a fight between Absolutes...."
Not Transcendents, but Absolutes. It was as if they were watching a battle between gods, not humans.
"Who won?"
"How would I know? But if Je-hwa lost...."
"Don't say such things."
If Je-hwa lost, everyone here would die. That was because Je-hwa was unmistakably on their side.
Shortly after, someone burst through the hazy steam shrouding the area.
Unwonnam and Iseolhye examined the figure closely with tense expressions.
And realizing that the figure was Diadelin, they despaired greatly.
"D-did Je-hwa lose?"
"..."
Iseolhye muttered blankly with a deathly pale face, and Unwonnam wore an expression of a man who had given up on everything.
"Keuk, keuk! D-damn it..."
Diadelin wiped the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and spat out curses.
"The Dragon Killing Technique... and at that, the Dragon King Ultimate Technique...."
Even among the dragonkin's Dragon Killing Techniques, there are ranks.
Among them, the power of the ultimate techniques learnable only by the dragon royalty truly transcends imagination.
In particular, the Dragon King Ultimate Technique, said to be used only by Dragon Kings, boasts power formidable enough to rival the ultimate techniques used only by Demon Kings among the black magic wielded by demons.
But it is a technique nearly impossible to use unless one possesses power close to that of a king.
And Je-hwa had used it.
"Haa... Haa..."
What would have happened if Je-hwa had been a dragon instead of a human?
The one to fall would have been herself, not Je-hwa. Fortunately, Je-hwa couldn't withstand the shock from the collision of the Silver Demon Rage and the Heaven and Earth Blaze and had been blown away.
To use the Dragon Killing Technique, one needs dragon mana, dragon combat aura, and the physique of the dragonkin.
If even a single one of these is lacking, usage is impossible, but just now, Je-hwa had unmistakably unleashed a dragon combat aura and used the Dragon Killing Technique with it. That much had been fine, but in the end, his body could not overcome the pressure from the collision.
"He really is a fool... Why would you use something like the Dragon Killing Technique with a human body!"
Diadelin furrowed her face, as if displeased by something. Though she had won the fight, thinking of Je-hwa having died filled her with regret.
The first time she met Je-hwa was when he was the Silver Dragon Prince.
The weak die in the Demon Realm.
The Demon Realm is a world ruled by strength, where only the strong survive and only the strong possess everything.
She too had grown up knowing that, and she had lived accordingly.
The Silver King's Palace of the Silver Kingdom in the Dragon Realm....
The beautiful silver castle was one of the prides of the Dragon Realm. Thanks to that castle alone, the capital of the Silver Kingdom was famous as a tourist destination across many worlds.
At that time, she had come to visit the Silver Kingdom in the Dragon Realm with her father, the Yeomak Demon King Dellian.
And in the Ice Garden of the Silver King's Palace, she discovered Je-hwa reading a book.
"You... You're the son of the Silver Dragon King?"
Eun Je-hwa, who had been concentrating on his book, looked at her blankly at the sudden voice.
"Who?"
"I'm Diadelin, daughter of the Yeomak Demon King."
"Ahh... So you're the princess of the Demon Realm."
At Diadelin's words, Eun Je-hwa smiled and recognized her.
At the time, Diadelin was a being famous throughout the worlds. It was shocking that she already possessed the power of a demon noble at a young age.
Pleased that Eun Je-hwa recognized her, a smug Diadelin looked at Eun Je-hwa and spoke.
"You are the son of the strongest Dragon King in the history of the Dragon Realm, right?"
Eun Je-hwa's mother, the Silver Dragon King, was the strongest dragon in the entire history of the Dragon Realm.
Even the battle-loving Demon Kings were reluctant to fight the Silver Dragon King. That said it all.
Diadelin was filled with anticipation.
How strong would the son of that mighty Silver Dragon King be? Though nothing was known about him, she had high expectations. After all, she loved fighting.
However, at Eun Je-hwa's following words, she couldn't help but be disappointed.
"It's true that my mother is the strongest dragon in the history of the Dragon Realm. But I'm sorry, I'm not strong."
"What?"
She was truly bewildered by Eun Je-hwa's words. Seeing Diadelin like that, Eun Je-hwa smiled bitterly and continued.
"The weakest dragon in the history of the Dragon Realm—that's me."
"How?"
Soon, Diadelin's face twisted mercilessly.
She couldn't understand. How could he be the weakest when he had the strongest parents? She thought Eun Je-hwa was making excuses because he was afraid to fight her.
"Well... Who knows why? Anyway, could you rein in your killing intent and mana? It's a bit scary with you flaring them like that."
As Eun Je-hwa scratched his cheek with an awkward expression, Diadelin scorned him.
"Trash!"
She shouted so and turned around without hesitation.
Even at Diadelin's words, Eun Je-hwa merely smiled bitterly once before turning his attention back to his book.
For some reason, that sight made him even more hateful to Diadelin.
After raising her expectations so high, what was all that about? She had truly been disappointed.
The second time she met Je-hwa, he was truly surprising.
He had become a human due to some accident.
If he had been that weak as a dragon, how much weaker would he have become as a human?
She had genuinely mocked Je-hwa.
But as a result of fighting him, she was truly surprised. Having become a weak human, he was far stronger than when he had been a dragon.
Not a trace of his former weak mindset could be seen.
He was pure, cruel, and had grown strong.
Moreover, that strong willpower seemed to shine even in darkness. He had become an existence incomparably more charming than before.
If he had been like this in the past when he was a dragon, she would have quite liked him.
It was a shame that he had changed so much after becoming a human, but she was not disappointed.
He was merely a human, not a prince of the Dragon Realm.
A being she could possess and see every day by her side until she grew tired of him.
She had been delighted thinking so, but the result was the exact opposite.
That Je-hwa, whom she had thought was nothing special... whom she had thought she could easily subdue, was a monster surpassing all imagination.
And she had nearly died.
She had barely won, but the second meeting also ended in disappointment. It was because she had taken such a liking to him, yet he had died.
"Sigh... I don't usually dwell on the past, but this is quite a shame...."
Her expression as she looked around with regret was truly filled with disappointment.
Just then, someone appeared beside her.
"Princess, you have used too much power."
"Yes, I must rest. I have not even the slightest bit of mana remaining right now."
Diadelin replied, sighing deeply at her escort knight's words.
However, there was one thing she did not know: she was still in the middle of battle.
Kwak! Deopseok!
"...!"
In an instant, a hand that broke through the ground grabbed Diadelin's ankle. She looked at her ankle with a horrified face.
"I-it can't be?"
Shing!
She, looking at her ankle with a pale face, and her escort knight drawing his sword.
But it was already too late.
Kwajik!
"Kyak!"
A savage force yanked her in an instant, and she was dragged straight into the ground without even being able to resist.
Buried in the ground for a moment and unable to move, she gritted her teeth and focused her meager remaining mana into her ankle.
"Eeek!"
Kwagagang!
And she swung her leg widely, shaking off the hand that held her ankle, and rose above the ground.
"You weren't dead yet?"
She was glad he wasn't dead, but Je-hwa was still an enemy now.
Since it was a situation where she might die, her expression was anything but bright.
If there was one consolation, it was that by her side stood a knight bearing the title of Demon Count.
Her escort knight was a knight of the Demon Realm boasting strength far greater than her own.
A Je-hwa who had suffered great damage in his fight with her couldn't possibly be a match for....
Kwadeuk!
"Kuaaaaaah!"
Je-hwa, who broke through the ground in an instant, let out a roar.
And at that roar, not only Diadelin but also the escort knight beside her turned deathly pale.
Moreover, his eyes seemed to have lost all reason.
Je-hwa was rampaging, and through that rampage, the energy gathered within him began to threaten the surroundings like a mad beast.