◈ Chapter 346. What Does Not Change Nonetheless (2)
Yunaxus.
What had been suppressing the fallen evil dragon was the tremendous burden he had borne for an eternity.
The leader of all dragons. At the same time, the sense of responsibility with which he had sought to carry out the will of the mother of all creation, the World Tree. That had been what restrained both malice and his instincts as a dragon.
However.
—“From now on, you may rampage as befits the king of all creation, Yunaxus. For you shall be recorded as a formidable foe greater than any demon, Demon King, or great evil I have ever faced.”
From the moment that voice reached him.
For some reason.
He truly felt as though he could lay down every burden.
And so Yunaxus laid them down.
It was one astounding thing after another, even to himself.
To think that merely by laying down his burdens, an old dragon who had been awaiting the day of his death could grow young again and blaze once more. Yunaxus reacted with pure feeling. ‘This is fun.’ He expressed his delight by wagging his tail and spewing flames.
The sight of himself rampaging helplessly must have been no different from that of a hatchling.
Yet Yunaxus paid it no mind and burned his final flame more brilliantly than anyone else.
He revealed the majesty befitting the king of all creation.
Fssshhh—……
That Extreme Flame slowly began to die down. ‘……Is it over?’ Only then did his vision begin to return.
What entered Yunaxus’s eyes was not the devastated area, nor his own body burning so fiercely it had turned from red to black. It was the silver-haired man looking at him—Claudi.
“I had a feeling it would be you.”
The balance of good and evil within him had collapsed.
To Yunaxus, who had become an evil dragon, reason no longer existed.
There was no one who could exchange words with such a Yunaxus.
Then what was this current situation?
Claudi gave the answer.
“This is an exorcism rite, Yunaxus.”
An exorcism rite.
Hunter and prey.
A conversation of consciousness that could be shared because they were within the rite.
Because it was not spoken aloud,
no one could hear the voices of the two.
What that meant was simple.
The king of all creation?
No, it meant that he could set aside the dignity of a king
and be honest with his own emotions.
“I was afraid, Claudi.”
Afraid.
A dragon.
And not just any dragon, but an Elder Dragon who stood at the head of dragons, let such weak words slip out. In Yunaxus’s eyes gathered tears he had not shed even when he had been a newborn hatchling.
“From the moment I swallowed the Evil Fruit, I knew a day like this would come someday. Yet I did not wish to show you such a disgraceful sight, nor did I wish to be hunted by you as an evil dragon. That may be why I fled far away from you.”
Claudi replied.
“I know how you feel.”
Yunaxus wept.
It was no savage Fear.
For Yunaxus also knew.
The weight of the burden borne by the man before him—Claudi, the Dark Dragon.
His own burden and the burden Claudi bore,
so cruel beyond measure,
could not be equated.
But because their positions were similar, Yunaxus could ask with all his heart.
“……How are you able to endure it?”
He himself had been comforted by Claudi, who carried a burden weightier than his own.
Yet in this world, there was no existence that could comfort Claudi.
Because he was so great that no one could fathom him……
Claudi was an existence who could receive neither understanding nor comfort from anyone.
That Claudi answered.
“I have no need of it.”
The same answer as always.
But perhaps because he realized there was nothing left behind him anymore,
Yunaxus dared to smile.
He entertained an irreverent thought.
Claudi.
Perhaps you, too, just like me,
are merely enduring desperately……
However, Yunaxus did not voice that thought.
“Is that so……?”
As he had said, because he had borne a burden himself.
Because he could guess the feelings of one who endured desperately.
And so Yunaxus asked no more.
“I have no face to show before you.”
The fading embers of the Extreme Flame.
A body burned pure white.
Within his dimming vision, he looked back on his eternal life.
Perhaps because he had no regrets left,
his life did not flash before his eyes.
Instead, he belatedly realized it.
“I have caused you trouble until the very end, Claudi. Far from dying quietly, I accepted your comfort as if I had been waiting for it, laid down my burdens, and did nothing but rampage like a hatchling……”
Not the Arcana Continent, but reality.
It was the world of adventurers who would have had no resistance to his rampage.
Considering the damage he must have caused before Claudi stopped him…… it seemed he should not close his eyes in peace like this. But then a voice reached him.
“There is no need to worry.”
“……?”
“The wounds upon you were not left by me, Yunaxus.”
“……!”
Wounds……?
Only then did Yunaxus look back over his own body. Claudi had not raised a sword or magic against him. That was right. Claudi had done nothing but wholly accept his tantrum.
Yet just as Claudi had said,
clear wounds remained upon his body.
Yunaxus realized it.
The scorch marks left across his chest and throughout his body.
“……These traces of mana are from the Magic Tower. My, I have unintentionally recreated the Dragon-Mage War. Hehe, I am glad that shameful past was not repeated.”
He could not overlook the wounds left across the back of his body either.
What had pierced through his scales and hide and remained there was
a clear sword wound.
Yunaxus smiled in satisfaction.
“Also, though I do not know whose sword strike it was, I am pleased. Old and feeble though I may be, they are ones who left wounds upon my body. In the future, they may become swords that you can trust, Claudi. And……”
How merciful you are.
You have relieved even my final burden.
Perhaps because even the last remaining guilt had been washed away.
“It seems this is the end for this humble one.”
Yunaxus felt his heart,
his Dragon Heart, slowly coming to a stop.
A heart that was stopping should no longer be able to circulate hot blood.
And yet, why was it?
His flesh was nothing but warm.
Yunaxus realized the reason.
“……!”
The World Tree.
Claudi carried the blessing of his mother.
That warmth was surely embracing him.
“Yunaxus. You will not be recorded as a feeble old dragon, nor as a vicious evil dragon. You will be recorded more brilliantly than anyone as the torch of Extreme Flame that opened a new era.”
Even until the very end, you……
He wanted to express truly infinite gratitude.
But he had no strength left to do so. ‘If so, then I am glad……’ Yunaxus swallowed his words and slowly closed his eyes.
Sssss— Hellfire.
Green flames coiled around the evil dragon.
Without Yunaxus knowing,
the flames of hell began to swallow Yunaxus.
As he watched that sight, Claudi said,
“You have endured much through the eons, Yunaxus.”
*
The Magic Tower had, exceptionally, opened all entrances completely.
As if proving that the news was not false,
people dressed in black attire headed for the Magic Tower.
A place dozens of meters away from the entrance.
An anchor delivered the news before a camera.
—“As you can see, the procession of mourners heading for the Magic Tower has not ceased. The spirit of sacrifice shown by the Arcana Continent native, the Tower Master, has sounded a great wake-up call to our society……”
The legend of the dragon and tiger’s clash was being revised as it spread. That was because the Dark Dragon himself, the person concerned, had personally denied the rumor that the mysterious cat who had blocked Yunaxus was undoubtedly the Dark Dragon’s pet.
Step, step— Shining.
Like everyone else, Rox, Dmitri, and Camilla, dressed in black suits and dresses, climbed the stairs of the Magic Tower. Amid the solemn atmosphere, Dmitri whispered.
“Did everyone know? That the Tower Master was a cat?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then why does nobody look surprised?!”
Dmitri still could not believe it.
“I mean, sure, changing one’s outer appearance with magic is something the leader of the Magic Tower could probably use freely. But the Magic Tower mage I know sacrificed himself like that for someone else?”
Zero Mountains.
He had witnessed the cat Tower Master’s exploits with his own eyes there, which made it even harder to believe. It was so unbelievable that even Dmitri of all people had found the rumor that the incredible cat was Lee Hoyeol’s pet more convincing.
Dmitri swallowed dryly and continued.
“……Damn it, then what does that make me, when I was chewing out the Magic Tower behind their backs? Did they turn over a new leaf or what? This makes me uncomfortable. If they’d at least accepted condolence money, I would’ve stuffed in a hefty amount as a sign of reflection.”
“You were chewing out the Magic Tower? You’ve got guts.”
Rox lightly shrugged and looked at Camilla. She had been looking around for a while now, as if searching for someone. He knew who she was looking for without needing to ask.
“Did you find her? Jessie?”
“Rox, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just purely curious. For now.”
Camilla answered without even glancing at Rox.
“……I don’t see her. Maybe she came earlier.”
Camilla did not know the details of Jessie’s relationship with the Tower Master, but thanks to her wide field of vision, she had seen Jessie holding the Tower Master in her arms. She had also seen the corners of Jessie’s eyes, as if she had hurriedly wiped away tears.
Before long, they reached the memorial space.
“Huh?”
There, Shining encountered not Jessie, whom they had been looking for, but unexpected competitors. It was the Giant Alliance, the massive alliance that, together with them and Cheonhatongil, had come to be grouped as the Troika.
“……Hey, move aside.”
Several players who noticed the situation made way.
Thanks to that, the Giant Alliance and Cheonhatongil came face-to-face.
However, contrary to expectation,
the Giant Alliance and Shining belonged to the same Holy War Alliance.
Dmitri was the first to open his mouth in a friendly manner.
“Hey. You look like hell, Nam Taemin.”
“Your face looks like hell, Dmitri.”
“……Seeing your mouth is fine, I worried for nothing.”
Nam Taemin and Dmitri.
The two muscular men let out a snicker.
Nam Taemin pointed to the bandages wrapped all over him and whispered.
“The Magic Tower’s healing magic service is just that effective. Honestly, I could take these off right away…… but shouldn’t we at least show that we suffered a bit?”
“What, Nam Taemin using his head for image management……? Hey, that was your brother’s idea, wasn’t it? You and I can’t think that far ahead.”
“How’d you know? Your instincts are good because you take after me.”
Hisagi and Rox also exchanged a handshake.
“Are your injuries all right, Hisagi?”
“They are neither good nor bad.”
“Yeah, I guess they would be. Since you charged at a dragon.”
The two exchanged what passed for warm regards in their own way, but their gazes held many meanings. Above all else, neither of them had a personality that allowed them to fully trust others.
“Yo, hi.”
“Leonie! Have you seen Jessie?”
“……Why are you asking me that? More importantly, let go already.”
This is embarrassing as hell.
Camilla, still preoccupied with finding Jessie, casually hugged Leonie. Because of the difference in height, Leonie barely escaped from Camilla’s arms and asked,
“She must have come first. No matter what, this is the Magic Tower’s business.”
“Right?”
“That princess sure is hard to catch a glimpse of.”
“That’s Jessie’s charm.”
“Yeah, of course it is.”
They had met by chance, but there was no particular reason not to walk together. Thanks to that, Dmitri looked excited. After all, he had a mountain of things he wanted to ask the Giant Alliance anyway.
“So, how does it feel?”
“How does what feel?”
“You know that if you pretend not to know here, it’s not modesty, it’s deception, right?”
Phase 1, level 2,500.
Phase 2, Yunaxus had approached level 3,500.
Just by participating in the Yunaxus raid,
players had risen by 1 to 2 levels.
And the three of the Giant Alliance had landed blows on that Yunaxus.
Even if they were all crumbs fallen from the same table,
it was only natural that there would be a difference in the weight of those crumbs.
Above all, it had all been plainly revealed through Arcana’s ranking system.
Thwack— Dmitri struck Nam Taemin in the side and whispered.
“How does it feel? To have played a part in defeating the greatest boss monster in Arcana’s history. I’m talking about how it feels to have achieved official ranks one, two, and even six!”
A rise of a full 50 levels.
Thanks to that, the guild masters of the Giant Alliance had taken 1st, 2nd, and 6th place respectively in the official player rankings. Thwack— Nam Taemin returned the blow to Dmitri’s side and answered.
“If I had a guild member like you, I’d die of frustration.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t that right, Rox?”
Because Nam Taemin and Hisagi had surged upward,
Rox had fallen to rank 5, after rank 3, Liu Zunqun, and rank 4, Skal. He shrugged.
“Well, sometimes.”
Beyond that, Leonie, whom he had thought of as a much later starter,
had now caught up to right under his chin.
Dmitri, realizing it belatedly, swallowed a groan.
“I’m bad at calculations……! Sorry, Rox.”
“It’s not like this is anything new.”
“In exchange, I’ll make sure to gather information properly.”
Even after giving Rox a wound that was not quite a wound, Dmitri’s curiosity was not quenched. That was right. In the first place, the congratulations had in truth been nothing more than groundwork for his real point……!
Dmitri asked subtly,
“Still, the one who clearly recorded an overwhelmingly high kill contribution was Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol, wasn’t it? So I’m asking…… would it be all right to ask what kind of loot Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol acquired? I mean, it’s nothing else but Dragon loo—……!”
However, Dmitri could not finish his sentence.
Click—
The familiar sound of dress shoes rang in his ears.
“Are you truly curious about that?”
A dry voice.
……No way?
Dmitri turned his head, trembling all over, and there stood
Hoyeol.
“What I acquired.”
“E-eek……!”
“I asked if you were curious.”