Chronicles of the Silver Dragon - Episode 64
“Hmph! Nothing more than an illusion.”
“……!”
Jehwa, who had been staring blankly at the sky, suddenly turned his head to one side.
“Why now?”
“They’re fighting.”
“What?”
At Jehwa’s sudden words, Sawollin made a bewildered expression.
“I’ll go take a look.”
Jehwa spoke lightly and immediately leaped away.
“Ugh! He’s gone.”
Watching Jehwa vanish in an instant, Sawollin grimaced.
“Ahahahahahahaha!”
Hong Yuhwa’s bright laughter dominated the space. The area around her had long since become a sea of flames.
Kaberyan, too, was dodging into the air to avoid Hong Yuhwa’s flames.
“Truly……. You are magnificent……!”
Seeing Kaberyan muttering with a somewhat fed-up expression, Hong Yuhwa grinned.
“Of course! Who do you think I am! I am Diadellin, the Flame Demon Princess.”
Watching Hong Yuhwa speak like that, Kaberyan clicked his tongue lightly.
“Who doesn’t know that? You are also the one who possesses the greatest talent in the history of the Demon Realm.”
“Ooh! If you’re so clever, why did you foolishly come to fight me?”
“Well, who knows.”
‘That bastard……. Strangely relaxed.’
It was true that Kaberyan was clearly no match for Hong Yuhwa in raw strength. No matter that he was older than her, she was a demon born with power unlike any other.
Though she was currently being pushed around by Jehwa and forced to keep her temper in check, ever since she was young, her nasty temper and formidable aura had been immense enough to overwhelm not only the surrounding demon nobles but even the children of other Demon Kings.
Normally, it was standard for the successors of Demon Kings to possess the power of a Demon Count by the time they reached one thousand years of age.
But Hong Yuhwa was a monster among monsters who had obtained the power of a Demon Count at five hundred years old, when she underwent her coming-of-age ceremony.
At best, Kaberyan was on the level of a Demon Viscount.
Of course, a Demon Viscount was not weak, but to Hong Yuhwa, he was decidedly a weakling.
And yet Kaberyan was far too relaxed.
‘There’s no way he believes he can win just by driving me into an illusion…….’
Illusionists were certainly troublesome. Once trapped in an illusion, the illusionist within that illusion grew exponentially stronger.
But it was something one could smash through with sufficient strength. If he was acting so relaxed merely because he had trapped her in an illusion, then he was a fool. Not just any fool—a first-rate fool.
“Hey, are you scheming something?”
“Of course not. Now then, here comes the next illusion.”
Flick!
Kaberyan smiled and created an illusion. Hong Yuhwa watched the illusion appear with a relaxed expression.
“Whatever you make, I’ll blow it away.”
Hong Yuhwa’s face, which had been shouting confidently, suddenly stiffened.
“Th-this is!”
What appeared before Hong Yuhwa’s eyes was none other than Jehwa.
“N-now, whatever shall you do…….”
Kaberyan’s face, which had been grinning as he watched, hardened completely.
“Hah!”
Smack!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Hong Yuhwa kicked the illusion away.
“…….”
Kaberyan was at a loss for words. Clearly, Hong Yuhwa was fond of that boy. So how could she kick him so indiscriminately?
“Uwahaha! I shall unleash everything I’ve endured until now!”
But for Hong Yuhwa, the illusion identical to Jehwa was a perfect opportunity to vent all the sorrows she had suffered at his hands.
She began excitedly kicking, punching, and stomping on the illusion of Jehwa. At that, Kaberyan spoke with a fed-up expression.
“What a devil…….”
Though it wasn’t something one demon should say to another.
Sssk!
Jehwa, who had been running toward where powerful demonic energy was felt, suddenly grimaced at the unpleasant sensation washing over him.
“What is this inexplicable irritation? I suddenly feel like hitting Hong Yuhwa for no reason.”
There was plenty of reason for it. After all, Hong Yuhwa was currently beating up an illusion of Jehwa.
But Jehwa didn’t know that. Truly incredible intuition.
Fwoosh!
The illusion of Jehwa disappeared just like that.
“Ah, that feels refreshing~”
Watching that, Hong Yuhwa smiled brightly and said.
“Are you a demon?”
“I’ve always been a demon.”
Seeing Kaberyan ask blankly, Hong Yuhwa spoke proudly.
“Ah, the Princess was always a demon. But your actions are so vicious…….”
“That’s not something one demon should say to another.”
At Kaberyan’s words, Hong Yuhwa snorted.
“Now, this is no fun. Die.”
“Hardly. The one dying is you, not me.”
“What? Don’t even make such boring jokes.”
At Kaberyan’s words, Hong Yuhwa spoke with an unamused expression. But his smile only deepened further.
Just as Hong Yuhwa was frowning at that sight…
Squelch!
“Ugh?”
Instantly, seeing something stab her side, she hardened her face. Turning her head, she saw a hand piercing Hong Yuhwa’s flank.
“Not bad?”
Hong Yuhwa gripped that hand with a twisted smile.
Crack! Fwoooosh!
The hand began to shatter and burn in an instant.
By the time Hong Yuhwa let go, the hand had already turned to ashes.
“Hmm…….”
Kaberyan looked indifferently at his own hand that had turned to ashes.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, light shone from where Kaberyan’s hand had been, and a new hand formed. At that, Hong Yuhwa’s eyes widened as well.
“Did you not know? I lost my hand long ago. This hand is merely an illusion.”
“Damn it! You’re dead!”
Terrifying killing intent erupted from Hong Yuhwa’s entire body.
“Here.”
Jehwa looked straight ahead with a stiffened face.
“Something strange is blocking the way……. How do I break through?”
Jehwa, tilting his head as he looked ahead with a serious expression, came to a simple conclusion.
“I’ll just smash my way through, I guess.”
CRAAAASH!
“You bastard!”
Hong Yuhwa gnashed her teeth.
“It is certain that I am weaker than you, at least for now.”
“What the hell did you do?!”
How could a Demon Viscount wield the power of a Demon Count?
Of course, he was still weaker than her, but because she had let her guard down early on, he had managed to inflict a wound she should never have taken.
Moreover, this place was inside an illusion created by Kaberyan.
“I can become even stronger. Hahaha! Surely, not even you would have dreamed that the Demon God’s Gem held such power.”
“The Demon God’s……. Gem?”
Hong Yuhwa’s face hardened.
“That’s right, the Demon God’s Gem. Lord Jareuken oversaw and studied the Demon God’s Gem for a long time. And he discovered that within it lies a power that can amplify a demon’s strength.”
“Within the Demon God’s Gem……. Such power exists?”
“Yes.”
She had never dreamed that the Demon God’s Gem would hold such power.
Of course, in the early days of the Demon Realm, many researchers had devoted themselves to studying the gem’s power but failed to uncover anything.
“That’s absurd! There were clear research results stating that the Demon God’s Gem held no such power…….”
“That was hundreds of thousands of years ago. But both magic and science have advanced. Lord Jareuken discovered a new power.”
Jareuken—the one who had stolen the Demon God’s Gem.
“Keuh!”
Hong Yuhwa clenched her teeth.
A Demon Viscount had become a Demon Count. Which meant Demon Barons became Demon Viscounts……. And Demon Counts became Demon Marquises.
There were two Count-class demons who had escaped to this world. Which meant there were now two Marquis-class demons.
‘This is absurd! Without the help of the Four Divine Beasts, this will become impossible to handle!’
This matter had already gone beyond her hands.
‘I have to kill this bastard before he gets stronger.’
“What happened to that damn Bureuk bastard?”
“Ah, he rampaged on his own before growing stronger. The truth is, to strengthen a demon’s power with the Demon God’s Gem, one must feed the gem human blood, resentment, and hatred. I do not know the exact method, but after doing so, something is created from the gem, and that is the source that makes demons stronger.”
“You mean a mass of demonic power?”
“Yes. He was the one who massacred all the humans of Gaegju in the beginning. But the blood was slightly insufficient. So that fool went to Shaanxi……. He ended up dying from rampaging recklessly. Well, by seizing the Blood Cult, he obtained far more blood, resentment, and hatred than imagined……. ‘I shall purify the world with blood’……. Truly a magnificent doctrine.”
“That’s not deranged—it’s madness!”
Hong Yuhwa laughed.
“Die.”
Fwoooooosh!
“Kuh!”
In an instant, terrifying demonic power, demonic energy, and blazing flames began to surge from Hong Yuhwa’s body.
“This is……!”
‘Damn it, I let my guard down!’
Those of the Demon King’s bloodline could inherently gather massive demonic power without revealing it outwardly. Normally, the young had difficulty controlling it, but Hong Yuhwa was a genius among geniuses.
‘To think that was possible!’
At this rate, Kaberyan himself would undoubtedly die.
“Die!”
Before anyone knew it, Hong Yuhwa held a crimson sword in her hand. Moreover, with the release of all her demonic power, her hair and pupils had transformed into a vivid scarlet red, and her appearance had shifted into that of a demon.
Hong Yuhwa’s sword rushed toward Kaberyan.
KABOOOOOM!
An enormous explosion echoed. And at the unexpected turn of events, both Hong Yuhwa and Kaberyan’s faces hardened completely.
“Didn’t I tell you it was dangerous?”
“You…….”
“Lord Marekeuran.”
The purple-haired Demon Count, Marekeuran, had appeared out of nowhere and was blocking Hong Yuhwa’s sword with an indifferent face.
“Kuh!”
This meant the demon before her possessed the power of a Demon Marquis. The current Hong Yuhwa was absolutely no match for him.
Clang!
Marekeuran lightly knocked aside Hong Yuhwa’s sword.
“Princess, it is over.”
“…….”
“There is no Kabareukeureun here to save you. Of course, even if he were here, he could no longer defeat me now.”
“Shut up.”
Hong Yuhwa’s eyes grew cold enough to send chills down one’s spine.
“The likes of you…….”
“…….”
“A traitor like you…….”
Hong Yuhwa bit her lip tightly.
“Drop dead!”
Fwoosh!
“Heaven-Earth Blazing Flames!”
KABOOOOOM!
Though she had not chanted the incantation, she had stored power, so it displayed considerable destructive force.
After using the Heaven-Earth Blazing Flames, Hong Yuhwa immediately threw herself forward.
But at the voice that came from behind in that instant, she froze completely.