Chapter 233
“That long one is mine!”
“Clan Seven Swords will dismantle that fat one!”
“Clan Martial will face that speedy one!”
The High Rankers dispersed, each charging toward the scattered dragons. Onie Yuki also chased a dragon, carried by a mannequin that had a flying skill.
“Let’s meet again in one piece, Seong-Hwi,” she said.
“Are you not mad at me anymore, Yuki?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“I was never mad!”
Seong-Hwi momentarily stared at her back, then turned to the battle between Kang-San and Biphatogenes. Thunderous booms endlessly echoed, and a clash between an icy blue star and a dark green star with white borders was occurring in the sky, making it look as if the sky had been split in two.
Seong-Hwi could not see a chance to jump into the battle between unique caliber holders unless it was via complete surprise, like what he had done to Bodonchar.
I’ll do what I can first! That one’s mine! Seong-Hwi shouted as his Wings of Evolution distorted like blazing flames, chasing after the largest of the scattered dragons.
[75 days remain until the termination of Indigestion.]
[25% of the Fruit of the World Tree’s power is available.]
...
Twenty-five percent... a quarter. Can my body handle it? he wondered as he grabbed Bulgasal’s trunk in his hoodie pocket, immediately purchasing stat cubes.
Pwoo?
[Health S(4) obtained.]
[Health S(4) obtained.]
[Health S(20) → S(28)]
...
[Strength A(9) obtained.]
[Strength A(10) obtained.]
[Strength A(9) obtained.]
[Strength A(52) → A(80)]
...
The Health stat took priority to endure the effects of using the Fruit of the World Tree’s power. He then used his remaining Karma to purchase Strength stat cubes.
[Converting Destiny Force to Mineral Force.]
Seong-Hwi stared at Bulgasal, blinking at him with innocent eyes, and said, “Can you protect the citizens for me, Bulgasal?”
Pwoo... I hate fighting, and I hate being apart from Daddy even more!
Seong-Hwi, who could now converse with Bulgasal through Mineral Force, asked again, “I know you don’t like fighting, but just this once... I want you to help me—No, I want you to help Daddy.”
Bulgasal disliked conflict to the point that it was even mentioned in its description. Hence, it had been more than satisfied with supporting Seong-Hwi, and had not stepped up to fight even once. Seong-Hwi had also not asked Bulgasal to fight either, since he had been more than satisfied with it just for its ability to devour his nightmares.
However, the situation was dire enough for Seong-Hwi to ask Bulgasal to borrow his strength, to the point that he was willing to use the word Daddy, which Bulgasal called him.
Pwoo?! What did you just say, Daddy? Bulgasal asked, staring at Seong-Hwi wide-eyed.
Seong-Hwi suppressed the gut-wrenching cringe and repeated, “I need your help. Help Daddy!”
Pwoo~! Daddy called himself Daddy!
Bulgasal’s tail spun like a propeller from joy. It always called Seong-Hwi Daddy, but Seong-Hwi had never once acknowledged the title. But now, Seong-Hwi had at last acknowledged Bulgasal as his child.
“Can you help Daddy?” Seong-Hwi asked.
Pwoo! I don’t like fighting, but... I can at least protect them!
“Okay. I don’t know whether you’re a boy or a girl, but go, my child!” Seong-Hwi spun Bulgasal around by its trunk and threw it down toward the ground.
Daddy, you’re so mean~! Bulgasal shouted as it fell toward the ground, sprouting the silver wings of the Steel Blade Hawk from its back.
***
“Ahaha! Come to my side, drakes!” Ice Dragon Vharagar shouted as he activated a skill.
[Activating Skill: Warp Gate - Specific.]
This skill allowed the warping of those whom the user marked. Only dragons with their overflowing mana supply could use such skills with ease. A blue warp gate appeared in midair, and drakes poured down from it.
“Kill the humans!” Vharagar commanded.
“Yes, Master Vharagar!”
“It is an honor to receive your summons, Master Vharagar!”
Vharagar was Biphatogenes’s little brother. Although he was not old enough to be considered an elder dragon, he had lived for much longer than his nephews and nieces. And the more he aged, forget becoming calmer, his desire for competition and battle only overflowed, which was why he had only marked drakes, who enjoyed battles of pure physical strength.
“Destroy it all! Everything! Ahaha! I couldn’t live with myself if I killed fewer than my nephews and nieces!”
Vharagar’s sense of rivalry was strongest toward Seringer, Biphatogenes’s eldest son. He was already a Spare Ranker despite his young age and had been acknowledged enough to become ninety-fifth in the dragon ranking.
Seringer reminds me of the young Biphatogenes! Vharagar thought.
They were born from the same parents, but his older brother always felt like he was of a different race entirely. Vharagar used to believe it was because Biphatogenes had been born earlier, but he realized that was not the case over time. His brother, Biphatogenes, was of the chosen ones. Vharagar did not mind being surpassed by his older brother, but couldn’t accept even his son surpassing him.
“Keep killing, drakes! I will bestow a new heart upon the one who kills the most humans!” Vharagar shouted.
Ismailia’s ground caved in with each step the drakes took, causing the buildings to fall. The humans who had not evacuated yet couldn’t even stay standing due to the earthquake-like shaking. They could only watch as death approached them.
“Help me!”
“Kyaaaaah! S-someone, please—”
“Here they come! Ahhh!”
“Get the hell up and run!”
“I-I can’t!”
Just then, they heard the clattering of a horse’s hooves.
“I will devour the dragon’s heart!” shouted a man in a black hoodie with fourteen iridescent wings on his back, riding a glossy, ashen horse.
The people recognized the Wings of Evolution, Seong-Hwi’s signature characteristic.
“T-that’s—”
“Rainbow Wings! It’s Cheon Seong-Hwi!”
“The serial killer?”
Seong-Hwi was holding a silver, two-meter-long crossguard greatsword with a flawless fuller in one hand. The sword trembled, then a blood-red aura rose to make the blade five meters long.
“Haaaaah!” Seong-Hwi shouted, swinging the sword as the ashen horse leaped. He beheaded a giant drake, getting drenched in its blood. The bloody Seong-Hwi smiled brightly and shouted, “Fantastic! This reminds me of old times!”
He weaved between the drakes as he continued to swing his greatsword, slicing through their hard scales as if they were merely pieces of paper.
“Gyeeeeeh!”
“Master Vharagar... Kurgh!”
“Watch out! That sword—Gaaaaah!”
The humans cheered as they watched Seong-Hwi slaughtering the superior drakes.
“Holy shit!”
“How is he human?”
“Y-yeah, Cheon Seong-Hwi!”
Seong-Hwi looked backward from his horse and shouted, “This isn’t a goddamn show! Run away if you don’t wanna die!”
The humans helped each other up and quickly ran away.
“Get up!”
“Run away!”
Seong-Hwi stopped the horse after slaughtering about a dozen drakes. The red aura disappeared from the silver greatsword, skewering pieces of the drakes’ hearts.
He munched on the hearts as he said, “So chewy. Fafnir’s heart was much softer than this. Oh, maybe because I had roasted it.”
“Bastard! Who are you?!” a furious voice shouted from the sky.
It was Vharagar, who was looking down in disbelief at the human who had killed the drakes in just a few seconds.
Seong-Hwi smiled as he looked up and said, “Or perhaps it’s because they belong to drakes. I’m looking forward to tasting a dragon’s heart!”
He flew up toward the sky from the ashen horse.
***
Seong-Hwi had immediately ingested an ayahuasca to borrow a destiny once he heard the Capital was under a dragon attack. Birds were chirping on tree branches, and an ashen horse was tied to a pillar.
“Hey, how was my life?” asked a handsome man with long grey hair and red eyes, sitting on a rock.
“Huuu, it had a shitty end, like the stories of all heroes,” Seong-Hwi replied.
“Haha, nothing held back, I see. But isn’t that a sight to behold?” the man remarked as he pointed backward with his silver sword. A giant red dragon was lying on the ground, its head separated from its body. “It took everything I had to slay Fafnir.”
The man was Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer. He was the posthumous child of Sigmund and Hjordis, and was the shining hero of the Germanic peoples.
Just then, a brown bird chirping from the tree branch flew down to Siegfried’s shoulder and chirped.
“Hmm, really? Oh?” Siegfried said as if he could talk to the bird, and nodded. “You’re here to borrow my destiny?”
“I am.”
“Even though it had a shitty end, as you’ve mentioned?”
“To be more specific, I wish to borrow your destiny as a dragon slayer who slayed Fafnir.”
“So, you’re taking only the part that you need? Do you think that’s possible?”
“I very much think so,” Seong-Hwi retorted with a smile.
He had borrowed Siegfried’s destiny in his past life.
Back then, I told him that I need to battle the strongest dragon in my world, and he accepted without a second thought, Seong-Hwi thought.
He had attempted to borrow a seven-card destiny, despite lacking the stats to do so, when the Third Lord, Regnator, came to attack the Capital. Although he had been no match for Regnator, he managed to at least injure him.
“Hahaha! I like your guts. Are you confident you will be able to persuade me?” Siegfried asked.
“Go ahead and tell me what you want. I will do my best to fulfill your wishes.”
Siegfried shrugged and said, “I would ask you to let me meet Brunhild or take revenge against Gunther, but...”
“They probably exist only in Germanic legends or Richard Wagner’s operas.”
“Yeah, I thought it was a stretch to ask,” Siegfried said as he scratched his cheek.
Just then, Seong-Hwi’s eyes shone as he asked, “How about I promise you a feat that surpasses your legend?”
“Hm?” Siegfried’s eyes, which had been unserious until now, suddenly sank deeply. He smirked and said, “Hah, a feat that surpasses my legend? You dare declare that you will surpass the great Siegfried, the greatest hero of the Poetic Edda and Volsunga saga?”
“It would be difficult by myself, but it will be possible with you. Do you not wish to accomplish a feat that surpasses your legend?”
“A feat... that surpasses my legend?” Siegfried’s eyebrows twitched, signaling interest. He asked, “Are you saying there is a feat greater than killing Fafnir and eating his heart?”
“I am,” Seong-Hwi replied with certainty as he nodded. “There is a dragon named Regnator in the Mirror World. He is one of the strongest beings in all dimensions, and reigns over all dragons as their king.”
“Regnator? Is he that strong? Stronger than Fafnir?”
“The likes of Fafnir wouldn’t even compare.”
Siegfried’s brow furrowed at Seong-Hwi’s statement, then he laughed heartily. “Ahahaha! That hurts my pride quite a bit! I proudly boasted my legend because I thought Fafnir was the strongest dragon there was! Are you saying I was a mere frog in a well?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Aha! Ahahahaha!” Siegfried laughed crazily. He was willing to yield anything about him except his title as the greatest dragon slayer. He stood up from the rock, handing Gram to Seong-Hwi, and shouted, “Regnator, was it?! A fine name to introduce the birth of a new saga!”
***
Who was my father?
Do you not know?
Wisdom inspires you
now you are dying:
maybe my name will tell you:
Siegfried, that is my name.
Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Siegfried Act 2 Scene 2
***
[Activating Unique Skill: Borrowing Destiny.]
[Siegfried the Dragon Slayer]
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Holy Sword Gram]
...
Seong-Hwi, having borrowed Siegfried’s destiny and wielding Gram, rapidly flew up toward Vharagar.
“Such size! Is that dragon Regnator?” Siegfried asked, his voice echoing inside Seong-Hwi’s head.
“No, that dragon does not even amount to one of Regnator’s claws,” Seong-Hwi replied.
“Hahaha! My heart beats faster from hearing that! It must be from the scent of adventure and the excitement of a new challenge!”
“But he is worthy enough to decorate our saga with. His scales appear especially hard.”
“What are you talking about, human?!” Vharagar shouted, swinging his tail like a whip at the quickly approaching Seong-Hwi.
On top of that, at the end of his tail were sharp spikes. Taking the attack head-on would leave Seong-Hwi in tatters. However, Seong-Hwi did not dodge, instead activating a skill.
[Activating Exclusive Skill: Dragonblood Armor.]
The blood of the drakes Seong-Hwi was drenched in hardened, becoming like armor that covered his entire body. He raised his arms to block the giant tail attack and raised Gram, ignoring the mild pain. Gram trembled as it was dyed red, and its blood-red aura grew more and more.
“Chaaaa!”
[Activating Exclusive Skill: Dragon Scale Slash.]
A crescent slash flew in the direction of Gram’s swing, slicing off the end of Vharagar’s tail.
“GAAAAAH! HOW DID YOU PENETRATE MY DRAGON SCALES?!” Vharagar screamed in pain from having his tail severed.
Seong-Hwi was basked in the blood pouring from the end of the tail. The Dragonblood Armor, which had been made from drake blood, grew even harder once a royal dragon’s blood was added. The Dragonblood Armor grew stronger the more its user was drenched in dragon blood, and the Dragon Scale Slash was powerful enough to injure even the Dragon King, albeit its power was limited to being against dragons.
These skills exhibited the true worth of Siegfried the Dragon Slayer, and Seong-Hwi’s ability truly shone when his large arsenal of skills were used optimally.
“He’s exposed!” Seong-Hwi shouted as he activated more skills.
[Activating Unique Skill: Borrowing Destiny.]
[One who Confirmed the Death of God]
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Spear of Longinus]
[Activating Exclusive Skill: Holy Blood of Degradation.]
A Roman soldier’s hasta appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hand, and the red blood on its head boiled. He threw the Spear of Longinus, covered in the Holy Blood of Degradation, aiming for Vharagar’s flesh exposed by the Dragon Scale Slash.
“Kurgh! Bastard! What have you done to me?!”
It’s done! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly, sure of his victory after confirming the Spear of Longinus had been embedded in Vharagar’s flesh.