“From this moment on, magic is mine.”
Don’t rely on magic carelessly.
“Let’s all die here together.”
From the moment Braham made this declaration, Raider’s power stopped working.
The God of Wisdom and Magic—the Old Dragon, dressed in divine golden scales, was immersed in observing the god as he never did before. Thanks to this, Chiyou returned to his normal timeline and he also shifted his attention to Braham.
“…Hmm.”
Chiyou was aware of Raiders’ power. He understood why Nevartan, who was originally targeted, had retreated far away. Nevartan must’ve backed away when his time was rewound. The flow after that…
The corners of Chiyou’s mouth slowly curved up. He grasped the whole situation with his transcendent perceptual abilities.
“I’m looking forward to your future.”
If Braham, who stepped into the realm of an Absolute, hadn’t performed any actions then the battle would’ve fizzled out. Chiyou read the flow and praised Braham.
[You dare.] Nevartan couldn’t hide his anger. A mere god intervened in the magic of an Old Dragon and interrupted it. It was an unacceptable incident.
The masters of magic—it was none other than the dragons who created the concept of magic in this world.
[Die terribly.]
There was no need to use Dragon Words. Above Braham’s head, a huge, pointed object that floated alone was crashing down at a tremendous speed. It was the claw that Nevartan had pulled out earlier. It contained killing intent and was going to pierce the top of Braham’s head before Braham could react. It was proof that Braham hadn’t become a complete Absolute yet.
Jingle.
Just then, the sound of bells penetrated the ears of Braham, who was unaware of his situation. Nevartan’s claws, which had just scratched the top of Braham’s head, exploded and shattered. It was only then that Braham realized the situation and opened his mouth. He didn’t intend to say something naive like ‘thank you for helping me’ or asking if they were going to cooperate from now on.
“Multiple Wave Domains.” He chanted to build a magic barrier. The magic power concentrated in Braham’s body created a realm in an instant with infinite waves.
“Huh?”
Strange cries and physical phenomena occurred almost simultaneously. Chiyou’s body was hit with countless waves of magic power and he was repeatedly bent at various angles. Eventually, he was pushed back 30 meters away from Braham.
Raiders figured it out. [You are definitely an Absolute as far as magic is concerned.]
[It is sophistry.] Nevartan showed reluctance after hearing Raiders’ words.
It was natural. It was because they were perfect that they were Absolutes. Absolutes were independent, self-existent, flawless beings, who weren’t restricted or limited by any force. Braham couldn’t be considered an Absolute from the moment when conditions such as ‘where magic is concerned’ were attached.
[But there is no other way to express it.]
Raiders didn’t bother to convince Nevartan. There was no need to do so. Nevartan was the one who had experienced his magic failing at the hands of Braham. He must be well aware of it himself.
[…There is no need to use magic.]
Nevartan’s throat swelled up. His maw opened and there was a flash. It was the most powerful means of attack in the world and had seriously wounded the Martial God several times. It was also an act of just releasing magic power. It was a physical force based on magic power, so it wasn’t classified as magic.
Of course, it might contain powerful elements depending on the dragon’s attributes, but Nevartan was a Black Dragon. Among the materials that made up his Breath, the proportion of elements was very small. It meant that it was meaningless if Braham tried to use some type of force to treat elements as magic and attack.
At the same time that the Breath was fired, Braham used Blink to leave his location. He quickly realized that Nevartan’s Breath was acting against him and chose to avoid it.
However, there was only one way to avoid Nevartan’s Breath. It was to avoid it right before getting hit by it. If he tried to avoid it in advance, Nevartan’s Breath adjusted its trajectory in real time and persistently pursued the target. This was why Chiyou had narrowly avoided the Breath and got hurt throughout the battle.
Nevartan watched as Braham used Blink to widen the distance. Then he glanced at Raiders. At this moment, their main goal was to rescue Trauka. They needed to activate Teleport to leave the scene.
Just then, Nevartan’s Breath caused a powerful explosion. Less than two seconds after it was fired, it hit the target. At the same time, the magic of teleportation was overlaid over Nevartan and Raider’s huge bodies.
However, the Teleport was transformed into Meteor. Extremely large meteorites crushed the bodies of the two Old Dragons.
“I said that magic is mine.” Braham’s voice rang out. He might’ve been swept away by the Breath, but his breathing wasn’t disturbed and his tone was fine.
The astonished gazes of the Old Dragons shifted in the direction of the explosion that occurred a moment ago. Chiyou was there, not Braham.
“You overlapped magic power to disguise me as yourself…? Is this really the realm of magic?” Chiyou was stunned. He couldn’t hide his admiration. It was an unfamiliar sight even for the Old Dragons.
[I will take charge of this place as planned. You must escort Trauka to his lair.]
An Old Dragon’s lair accumulated fundamental magic power. An ecosystem had been created that unconditionally benefited its master. It was full of rare materials and concepts that even the Insane Dragon Iron couldn’t be compared to.
Even if he lost his Dragon Heart, Trauka would definitely recover someday if he recuperated in his lair for a long time. Death was a distant concept for an Old Dragon. It was natural since even the insignificant gods didn’t die easily.
[The observation is over.]
The reason why Raiders had been silent so far wasn’t because of fear. He was just interested in and observed the evolution of a god with two modifiers. The wisest dragon had his own passion for learning.
That was it.
Just then, Braham and Chiyou’s time was rewound. It was the power of time reversal. It was so powerful that the recoil was huge. In particular, the higher the level of the designated target, the more the power was halved and the greater the physical strength consumed.
Raiders needed to be determined in order to designate Braham, who was close to an Absolute, and Chiyou, the strongest Absolute, at the same time. Nevertheless, he was confident that he would succeed. This wasn’t the pride of an Old Dragon, but a conviction gained due to his calculations.
“……?”
The frightening thing about Raiders’ power was that the target wasn’t aware of the change in the timeline. This meant Braham was in utter confusion. It was because the scene in front of his eyes suddenly changed.
Nevartan was nowhere to be seen. The lone Raiders was coughing up blood…
“It is embarrassing in many ways.” Chiyou stood on the bridge of Raiders’ nose and was slightly embarrassed. He seemed to be seriously troubled because he was unable to aim the bar-like weapon between Raiders’ eyes and stab him carelessly.
It didn’t matter to Braham.
“Dammit.”
He missed Nevartan.
It happened the moment when Braham realized it and was able to deploy Teleport along with a backtracking spell…
-Martial God Chiyou.
A voice that seemed to echo from inside a cave colored the scene. It was an incredible presence. It was the voice of Hanul, a God of the Beginning.
-Give me the heart of the Gourmet Dragon. I will implant his power and qualifications inside me, speed up the embodiment of light, and personally destroy you.
Braham stiffened like a wooden statue. He watched Chiyou’s movements with a very anxious expression. Chiyou was contemplating Hanul’s suggestion without disregarding it. In the end—
“Shit.” Braham swore again. Then he gave the Teleport spell that he just completed to Raiders, not himself.
“Um?”
[…What?]
-……
***
“……”
There were a total of 21 survivors. The tower members, apostles, and Marie Rose were included in these 21 survivors. It was fair to say that the members of the Overgeared Guild were almost destroyed. It was by no means a sacrifice in vain.
After a long struggle, they had accomplished the feat of driving the Old Dragon to the brink of death. On the way, there was a disaster where Judar, the God of Wisdom, intervened, but the worst case scenario was averted because Trauka self-destructed.
Yes, they thought it was self-destruction since he destroyed his Dragon Heart himself. They were mistaken. The situation still wasn’t over.
Trauka closed his eyes like he was dead, but he didn’t turn to ash in the end. It was a vitality that was beyond imagination. As a result, the subjugation group was in an uncomfortable confrontation with Judar without being able to receive the rewards for subjugating Trauka.
[I will retrieve this.] What was he thinking? Judar, who had been silent for some time, finally started to move. He spoke meaningfully and strode over to Trauka.
[With whose will?]
Zeratul blocked him but it was meaningless. He had suffered serious injuries while fighting Trauka. Now Judar struck him away with a hand like chasing away a fly. Zeratul flew away and ended up somewhere in the desert.
“……”
It was a situation where they had to risk their life, but no one could recklessly step forward.
The real powerhouse of heaven—Judar, the son of the God of the Beginning, Rebecca, and the brother of Dominion, the God of War, was special even among Absolutes. He suppressed the dimensional effect of the Overgeared World right away. He wasn’t an opponent the Overgeared Guild could challenge prematurely after losing most of their power to Trauka.
Of course, fearless people like Vantner and Huroi growled and seemed like they could attack at any moment, but Lauel actively stopped them. “You have to endure it even if you are angry.”
At the very least, useless deaths should be avoided. Additionally, according to Lauel’s calculations, the rewards would be settled the moment Trauka left in some form. It was a shame that they didn’t qualify as a Dragon Slayer by killing Trauka, but it wasn’t a loss.
It was as Lauel was trying to comfort himself…
Flash!
Light poured down from the sky. It was the light of magic power. It was a trace of teleportation.
“…Things are becoming worse.”
A huge shadow covered the battlefield. It was a shadow created by the giant body of an Old Dragon who was only one head smaller than Trauka.
[Nevartan.] Judar confirmed the identity of the Black Dragon.
[Ephemeral beings. The price of daring to trample on the dignity of an Old Dragon will be great.] Nevartan declared and was about to release a Breath.
[Stop.] There was a flash in the sky again and a new dragon appeared.
By this time, Judar’s expression had also distorted. […Raiders.]
[Stop?] Nevartan glared at Raiders.
As tension increased even further, Raiders looked at the situation on the battlefield and explained the reason. [I owe a debt to Braham.]
[What?]
“…Uh?”
The repercussions were huge. Nevartan asked in a bewildered manner while the members of the Overgeared Guild was agitated.
Raiders used magic to make the unconscious Trauka float. [For the sake of my pride, I must pay back the debt. In any case, shouldn’t we save Trauka?]
The wise Old Dragon’s thinking was extremely reasonable, so Nevartan could no longer argue. He didn’t bother to harm the humans and instead activated Mass Teleportation.
[But you should be prepared the next time we meet again. Judar, the same goes for you.]
Along with Raiders’ warning, the Old Dragons disappeared without a trace.
Judar didn’t bother to chase them. He had no intention of confronting two Old Dragons at the same time and it also wasn’t a reasonable option. In the first place, he was predicting where Trauka would recuperate in the future. It was enough to be fully prepared and act in the future.
[Before that—]
Judar, who had been staring up at the sky where the Old Dragons had left, soon shifted his gaze to the humans on the battlefield.
They had some impressive aspects. Following the hell distorted by Baal, the Hwan Kingdom that survived thanks to Chiyou, and the heavenly Absolutes who were missing Rebecca’s presence, the powerful beings of the surface fought the dragons.
They persevered and eventually became stronger. They were a variable he couldn’t ignore.
[I will have to clean you up.]
Judar didn’t come forward directly. He gestured as if making a signal. Then countless clouds were created in the sky. They were golden clouds. They piled up like a staircase.
[Blame your god for choosing to be isolated.]
Judar spoke these words and leisurely walked up the stairs that connected the surface and heaven. His back moved away and soon became invisible. Hundreds of angels descended the stairs and covered up the appearance of the god. Every single one of them was a transcendent.
The 21 survivors were on the verge of exhaustion and it was beyond their capacity to handle.
—It was like that a moment ago.
[You have defeated Fire Dragon Trauka.]
[You have accomplished an unprecedented feat and will be rewarded according to your performance.]
[Dragon Slayer ‘Hayate’ has won the 1st place prize in the raid.]
[Sword God ‘Biban’ and Vampire Duke ‘Marie Rose’ have won the 2nd place prize in the raid.]
[Residual Fire ’Navaldrea’ and Overgeared Martial God ‘Zeratul’ have won the 4th place prize in the raid.]
[Sword Saint ‘Kraugel’ has won the 6th place prize…]
……
…
“…Who is this residual fire?”
***
At the same time, South Korea…
“Hello?”
Shin Youngwoo was facing an unexpected figure.
Elnithana—she was from the Lion Merchant Group and Lauel’s closest confidant. She was hired by Lauel from the first year she joined the Overgeared Guild due to her extraordinary mind. This was all superficial. The biggest reason why Lauel kept her around him was because he assumed she was a person with connections to Rothschild.
“……”
Elnithana, who always decorated her face with flashy makeup in the game, was very familiar to Shin Youngwoo in real life. It was the face of the master of the Rothschild family, which he confirmed by searching on the Internet several times.
“I am Nathaniel. I had no intention of hiding my identity from the beginning.”