Chapter 116
Hesitating.
Helena's expression, having unconsciously faltered, turned pale as death.
In contrast, Esther's face was distorted like an evil spirit.
The emotions the two harbored were quite different, but the conclusion they reached was the same.
Murderous intent.
The impulse to kill pounded in their hearts.
The death of someone cherished.
The death of a respected rival.
The death of a comrade, the death of a kingdom's knight—these complex thoughts arose, ultimately coalescing into rage and hatred.
However, Esther and Helena could not easily move.
Kalias's death was certainly sorrowful, but they were knights of the kingdom and paladins of the religious order.
They had witnessed the deaths of those close to them countless times; thus, even while enraged, they did not lose their composure.
‘His heart was pierced.’
‘There's no chance of survival.’
If so, the best course of action for them was to protect the defenseless queen.
Because the imperial knights who had rushed in with them were already charging toward the queen.
Kalias's death was tragic, but it couldn't be helped.
They were knights.
Knights were those who protected themselves, and furthermore, protected their nation.
Protecting the queen, who was no different from Carpe itself, was only natural.
“Esther!”
The imperial knights began to move.
They too had grasped the situation and were charging in to sever the lifeline of Carpe.
“I know!”
Crunch!
Along with Esther's stomping step, a chilling wave of tremors spread out.
Then, strangely enough, the charging imperial knights' steps came to an abrupt halt.
Flinching as if paralyzed, their eyes turned toward Esther in unison.
“Blue Moon.”
At the same time, Esther's sword flashed like blue moonlight.
Along with her sword emanating a chilling light, her movements changed extraordinarily. Leaping into the midst of the enemies in an instant, she moved with erratic footwork and brushed past the imperial knights in the blink of an eye.
It was as if her physical abilities had suddenly skyrocketed.
“Red Moon.”
Along with her softly muttered words, fresh blood spurted from the knights' bodies.
Splatter!
But Esther was crying.
The tears flowing from her expressionless face profoundly conveyed her emotions.
Seeing the knights charging at her again, Esther gripped her sword once more.
“White Moon.”
Thirty-six bundles of sword qi were instantly shot from Esther's sword.
The pure white sword qi shot out like a crescent moon, yet it was as thin as glass.
“With this kind of sword qi...! Cough!?”
The imperial knights generally scoffed at her sword qi, only to lose their arms along with their spears or have their torsos severed.
Wiping away her unceasing tears.
Esther manifested her final stance.
“Black Moon.”
Her sword qi, which had turned black as various colors mixed together, contained a sinister energy.
The moment the knights who had tried to kill the queen faltered.
They flinched, having sensed Esther's keen energy.
“Hel...ena?”
Helena was staring at a certain spot with wide eyes.
There.
Grip!
Was Kalias, tightly holding onto the Mad Dragon's hand and sword.
His bleeding mouth trembled from the imminent approach of death, but he spoke clearly with precise enunciation.
“Jingren (Reverence for Man) of the Three Reverences.”
Gyogyo (Rule and Teach).
It was at that moment.
Thud!
From Kalias's heart, chains made of silver light began to burst out in all directions.
They pierced into the ground and shot up into the sky, while the rest coiled around Kalias himself and the Mad Dragon.
“!!”
“Divine Art!”
And Jingren of the Three Reverences, Gyogyo, no less!
It was a divine art that couldn't be wielded without being a high-ranking holy art practitioner on the level of Sulivian, and its difficulty was of the highest order.
No matter how strong the Mad Dragon was, being caught so perfectly, it would have no way to deal with it.
“Ah...”
With a sword stabbed into his heart, it wouldn't be strange if he died instantly.
Despite that, he had invoked such a high-ranking holy art. It was a mental fortitude one couldn't help but admire...!
‘I will definitely, definitely not let your death be in vain!’
Esther's sword turned toward the Empire once again.
* * *
‘...It hurts.’
It felt as if his chest was being seared with a branding iron. He wanted to scream, but the energy to do so had long since vanished.
The Mad Dragon Sword pierced into his chest.
How many seconds were left until his consciousness faded?
Death was certain, yet despair was not etched on Kalias's face. In fact, he had been hoping for this situation.
‘Everything up to this point is as expected.’
The Mad Dragon Sword was a treasured sword beyond imagination.
As a sword that achieved the high rank of Hwan, its master, who had become a Mad Dragon, would instantly heal from ordinary attacks.
It was the dragon's regenerative power.
Thus, Kalias carefully accumulated damage before unfolding the Overlord Sword's sanctuary and executing Moonfall.
The Mad Dragon, having become a single moon, soon crashed and suffered massive damage.
But even so, it still charged at Kalias and thrust its sword.
Of course.
This much was Kalias's plan.
‘Because I had drained its strength, I could lure it in.’
He was able to take the sword to his heart more definitively.
And the divine art on top of that.
Sulivian's highest-tier binding technique, Jingren of the Three Reverences—Gyogyo.
Unlike the meaning of 'respecting people', Gyogyo meant 'teaching the rules'.
It was the highest-tier divine art used to bind those who failed to be human.
Because of this, even with the sword stabbed into Kalias's heart, the Mad Dragon couldn't easily pull it out.
That was Kalias's intention.
The Mad Dragon Sword.
A treasured sword created by killing the mad dragon that attacked Carpe.
Those who wielded it all went mad or had their minds dominated by the dragon's energy, leading them to slaughter all humans.
The only person who had used it was the founding king, and the only one who mastered the correct usage and wasn't dominated by madness was him as well.
And Kalias.
Was the only person on the continent who knew the correct usage of the Mad Dragon Sword.
Taking the reverse scale was also for that reason.
When he took the reverse scale with the constitution of [Glutton] and [Fused Bones], his body was already prepared to accept the dragon.
His more efficient body easily accepted the reverse scale, making his mind and body even stronger.
And with the Mad Dragon Sword bound to his heart.
There was nothing to fear.
“Give... back the sword...”
Cough!
Kalias, who vomited a handful of blood, had the area under his eyes already turned black, and blood trickled down his mouth.
But his gaze shone more lucidly than ever.
The correct usage of the Mad Dragon Sword.
It was a method he came up with himself, but it was truly absurd.
The Mad Dragon Sword was originally not meant to be held in one's grasp.
‘It is a sword to be stabbed into one's own heart.’
That was why Kalias had gone through so much preparation to drain the Mad Dragon's power until now.
If he made a mistake and it pierced somewhere else, he could really die, so he had to be extremely cautious.
The Mad Dragon, thrashing about like a thunder ape, was faster and more powerful than Kalias.
Thus, its trajectory was hard to read, making it necessary to drain its strength.
‘I thought of it myself, but really...’
The difficulty was absolutely wicked.
Was he being punished for it?
It hurt enough to die, but rather than getting angry, Kalias still found it absurd no matter how many times he thought about it.
But he couldn't stay like this forever.
If left like this, they would both die.
Regardless, with a sword pierced through his heart, wouldn't he die if he just stayed still?
Now, he had to properly take ownership from the bastard.
Only then could he escape death.
Not only that, but he would also be able to obtain the Mad Dragon Sword.
He couldn't delay any longer.
Squeeze!
Kalias put strength into his hand gripping the Mad Dragon Sword once more.
And immediately unfastened his bracelet.
Kwaaaaaaah!
Liberating all the stored divine power.
Controlling the divine power that surged as if his whole body was on fire, he plunders the ownership of the Mad Dragon Sword embedded in his heart.
* * *
“Grrr!!”
The Mad Dragon trapped in Gyogyo, created from divine power, struggled but couldn't easily move its body.
It thought it had killed its enemy, but before it knew it, the guy was doing something strange and had bound its body and sword together.
Startled, the Mad Dragon tried to break free, but the guy held onto it as if determined to die together, smiling with eyes full of madness.
Goosebumps rose all over its body.
But at the same time, the Mad Dragon could feel the state of the Mad Dragon Sword becoming strange.
It was an instinctive realization.
The energy of the Mad Dragon Sword, which had clearly been stabbed into the enemy's heart, was beginning to be sucked into him.
From that point on.
A tug-of-war between the Mad Dragon and Kalias began.
Unfortunately, the end of this fight belonged to the one who had fully prepared and waited.
It was Kalias's victory.
A struggle for dominance with a beast? Such a thing was unnecessary.
Because the Mad Dragon Sword itself judged Kalias's body to be better than the body it had painstakingly cultivated for so long.
Crack! Clang clang clang!!
The chains shattered.
Along with a powerful energy, the Mad Dragon's body was separated.
Thud.
The fallen Mad Dragon looked at Kalias with its vertically slit eyes.
“Grrrgh...!”
The sword that had been pierced through his heart was nowhere to be seen, and between his torn clothes, his healed chest and the engraved emblem were visible.
Along with a shape like a tattoo taking the form of a dragon, Kalias's eyes opened.
[You have become the new master of the Mad Dragon, Baramut.]
[You have contained Baramut within your body through the correct usage. All physical abilities are awakened, and skills are enhanced.]
[A permanent stat increase is achieved by the Baramut contained in your heart.]
[Stat increases are further boosted by 30% due to Fused Bones.]
[All wounds across your body are perfectly healed by the Mad Dragon's power.]
[You have experienced the tyrannical power of a dragon. You comprehend Dragon Power.]
[You have gained the power of the Mad Dragon. You are hated by all dragons on the continent.]
Vitality brimmed within his body, which had felt like it was going to die just a moment ago.
He had increased his resistance to the Mad Dragon with the reverse scale, and with the Red Jade received from the queen, the madness could not completely invade him.
On top of that, his whole body could fully utilize the Mad Dragon's power, and all his physical abilities had permanently increased.
Furthermore, it was enhanced by awakening. Along with the scattering silver chains, Kalias's imposing aura spread in all directions.
* * *
Whoosh—!
The tyrannical aura of the Mad Dragon possessed a majesty that would make anyone instinctively kneel.
What was originally his.
The beast, having its own power stolen from it, howled in rage.
“Kraaaagh!!”
A shell consumed by madness.
Grand Duke Chloe wailed like a child who had his things taken away and swung his claws.
Kwaang—!
“Due to the prolonged erosion, the Mad Dragon's energy and demonic energy still remain, I suppose.”
Even after losing the Mad Dragon Sword, Grand Duke Chloe was still going strong. It was the effect of possessing the Mad Dragon Sword for so long.
Dragon scales were still sprouting in various places on his body, and though it was merely a residue, the dragon's power remained.
Chloe aimed for Kalias's neck at a speed no different from before.
In order to reclaim his power once again.
Slash!!
Sharp claws slashed his neck.
Swipe.
But it was an afterimage.
“!”
Kalias's figure vanished like a ghost. Startled, the Grand Duke looked around, only for his neck to be grabbed! with a snap.
“Keok!”
Tremendous strength.
A monstrous strength, unbelievable for a mere human, held him.
Crunch, craaack!
“Grrrrrgh...!”
Chloe couldn't move an inch with his neck caught in Kalias's grasp.
Having contained the Mad Dragon within his body in the correct form, Kalias was currently in an awakened state, with all his stats having achieved explosive growth.
His ash-gray pupils slit vertically like a dragon's, unleashing tremendous power.
He couldn't possibly break free.
An unprecedented difference in strength.
The emotion of fear crept into Chloe's reptilian pupils.
“You're a decent opponent to test this on.”
Shimmer.
The Mad Dragon Sword, Baramut, manifested in Kalias's hand as he released the Grand Duke's neck.
The power that had been boiling throughout his entire body was focusing entirely into the sword.
And then, swinging the sword in a single stroke, he murmured.
“Dragon's Claw.”
Chilling.
The Grand Duke immediately threw his body back.
Right at that moment.
Kwaaaaaaaang!!
A massive rumble, as if an earthquake had occurred, spread in all directions.
One couldn't even come to their senses.
Was this truly destructive power achievable with a sword!
After the earth-shaking tremor.
A massive sword scar, as if a dragon had swiped its claws, was left where Chloe had been standing.
Gulp.
Instinctive fear devoured his entire body.
There was no time to think about anything.
Chloe began to run away without looking back, guided purely by instinct.
He was running away pathetically on all fours, but his speed was incomparably fast.
But then.
Swoosh.
Kalias's figure appeared as if mocking him and swung his sword down.
“Dragon's Roar.”
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!
The Mad Dragon Sword of Kalias, who had appeared right in front of him, let out a roar reminiscent of a dragon's breath.