Chapter 1913  

“I never thought I would crave learning.”

Armor that was ripped as if it had been scratched by the claws of a giant beast—the red-haired man curiously examined the loot made of his own scales. Then he threw it away and laughed. He was such a handsome man that his fierce appearance wasn’t a flaw.

The flame in his right hand turned into a sword.

It was a form made from a large number of scales joined together and had a pointed tip. It looked like the miniature version of a dragon’s tail.

Fire Dragon Trauka—every time he let out a Breath, the giant dragon turned the entire area into a sea of fire. Now he imitated a swordsman in human form.

It was due to the barrier of sword energy that covered the entire sky. Hundreds of millions of sword energy that were shimmering white. Each one contained the dragon killing energy.

“......”

The man standing on the other side of the barrier was silent.

Dragon Slayer Hayate—his flawless demeanor that looked like a noble aristocrat was now a mess. His hair and shoulders were hanging down and black dirt covered his white shirt. There were traces of dry blood.

“You are bothering me until the end.”

There was no mockery in Trauka’s complaining attitude. The human in front of him dared to hunt dragons and gain the dignity of an Absolute. He was worthy of respect.

Trauka realized it after fighting today. The hatred he had for the Dragon Slayer over the past thousand years had faded.

However, it was right to kill him. It was the duty of the defender of providence.

The giant golden dragon, who had been watching the situation, opened his mouth, [I will head to the east first.]

Gourmet Dragon Raiders—one of the Old Dragons bore a distinct scar.

His self-defense, which boasted the power of Absolute Defense, fluttered precariously like it would disappear immediately. The scales that had fallen off from various parts of his body couldn’t be easily regenerated.

“Yes, I will finish off this place and join you.” Trauka nodded. At the same time, Raiders left the scene. He headed for the East Continent rather than pursuing the remnants of the tower. It was because there was a request for assistance from Nevartan. He seemed to be struggling with the Martial God.

“...You should’ve just lived according to providence. The greed of the foolish Goddess made many people, including you, wander.”

Trauka peered into Hayate’s blue eyes. They were eyes that were losing their light. This great human was dying in real time. The barrier of sword energy blocking Trauka’s advance was like a last will and testament. He couldn’t pass through it...

It contained a strong will to protect the tower members.

“It is a pity.”

The human beings of this world weren’t supposed to be great. It was because the fate given to them was to be the entertainment of beings who descended from a higher dimension. But was it a mortal instinct?

Humans had a tendency to overcome their limitations. Maybe it was a tenacity born of ignorance, but... in any case, such great beings often bloomed. It was to the extent of forcing learning on the Old Dragons who were perfect from birth.

Trauka pulled at the hilt of the sword. His goal was to destroy the barrier created by the sword energy of the Dragon Slayer. He would definitely cut off Hayate’s lifeline on the other side of the barrier...

The hundreds of millions of sword energies filling the sky fluctuated in unison and a sharp sound followed. The principles and structure of the dragon killing energy.

Trauka had insight into it from the start. He just found it difficult to destroy with a dragon’s innate magic power and strength. Therefore, he took a human form. Not only did he change his appearance, but he also sealed his strength and magic power. He took on ‘human swordsmanship.’

This was the result. The sky, which had been encroached upon by the dragon killing energy and dyed a pure white, vibrated and regained its blueness. It was the aftermath of Trauka wielding swordsmanship made from referencing Hayate’s swordsmanship and precisely slashing the point that was the nucleus of the sword energy barrier.

The hundreds of millions of white blades vanished in a fleeting manner.

“Please don’t be reincarnated.”

Trauka approached Hayate’s side and said a goodbye that was like a curse. There was no hesitation in his sword that stretched out. It quickly aimed to pierce the throat of the noble human being who was always upright despite the storms of a thousand years.

At this moment, two swords flew in, crossed over each other and intercepted Trauka’s sword. They were the swords of Zik and Mir, Grid’s apostles. The wings borrowed from Sariel were flapping on their backs.

“Hurry up and leave here with Hayate.” Zik and Mir urged Sariel. Their swords were still crossed. They grabbed Trauka’s sword like a pair of scissors.

It happened the moment Sariel nodded and supported Hayate... “Thank you for coming here on your own.” Trauka laughed and activated the magic and energy that had been sealed for a while.

“Cough...!”

“Cough!”

Zik and Mir’s bodies were swept away by a powerful explosion and flew back helplessly. Sariel had been on the verge of completing the Teleport magic. Now she also spun dozens of times in the air while holding Hayate.

“Blame your master for being possessed by the Goddess.”

The sun seemed to get closer behind Trauka’s back as he raised his sword high. It was an optical illusion created by the atmosphere that was shimmering due to the heat. It couldn’t be resisted.

Grid’s apostles sensed this in the midst of the pain of their skin melting. They realized the greatness of an Old Dragon and moved desperately. They put all their energy into protecting Hayate at all costs.

Mir spread out a sword curtain containing the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts. Additionally, Zik’s runes that contained the divinity of King Sobyeol and the halos of light and divine magic released by Sariel worked solely to protect Hayate.

Their deaths were a foregone conclusion. Nevertheless, there was no guarantee that Hayate could be protected.

The sword wielded by Trauka poured out a torrent of flames. It destroyed all the defenses of the apostles and reached Hayate.

In this desperate situation, flame columns that were 50 meters in diameter suddenly soared up. It swallowed up Trauka’s torrent of flames that spread out in the shape of a fan and expanded its own territory until it finally hit Trauka.

The apostles survived thanks to this. Then a dragon appeared in front of them. It was obviously small compared to Trauka, but it was twice as big compared to a normal dragon. The scales were red.

Trauka’s head tilted at an angle. “Are you Ifrit’s child...?”

[I will get revenge for my mother.] The unidentified red dragon didn’t seem to have any intention of having a conversation. She activated Mass Teleport to transfer Hayate and the apostles. Then she charged at Trauka.

Trauka stepped in the air and jumped. He grabbed the dragon’s horn, circled around, landed on her forehead and sighed. “Foolish child. What is the point of obsessing over what happened in the Age of Oblivion? If you have to blame someone to get rid of your resentment, blame the goddess who sealed the refraction dragon and reduced us to mere beasts.”

[It is disgusting to see you shift blame to others when you have devoured so much of your kin...!]

Navaldrea—Fire Dragon Ifrit’s daughter. Like most red dragons, she spent her whole life in hiding so she didn’t even receive a title. Even so, she fully demonstrated the power of a direct descendant of Fire Dragon Trauka. Even after being caught by the horn, she definitely shook off Trauka.

“...Is that so?” Trauka was pushed far away and was convinced. “You are nothing but a residual fire.”

Trauka’s ferocity wasn’t caused by the Goddess’ curse. All she had done was seal some of the Refractive Dragon’s power. The dragons’ behavior during the Age of Oblivion was simply a desire for survival, or their natures. Then now—

“A worm gave birth to a worm.” Trauka revealed part of his original nature. The part of the terrible nature that forced other dragons to fight for survival was naturally terrible. “It is better for you to be part of me.”

Night had come.

Trauka released the Polymorph. His wings created a shadow so huge that it covered Navaldrea’s whole body. Dozens of columns rising from all directions crossed one after another. Navaldrea was isolated in the center.

The whole continent heated up.

***

“......!”

A faint scream awakened Hayate’s consciousness. A large number of people were gathered around him. They were the tower members, apostles, and members of the Overgeared Guild.

“Ahh! I’m glad you’re awake!”

It was a little while ago.

The Tomb of the Gods rescued all of the tower members and launched a full-scale offensive.

Due to the members of the Overgeared Guild and tower members launching all types of attacks from the moving Overgeared World, the dragons’ front line faltered for a moment. It was only a moment, but Cranbel didn’t miss this small opportunity.

He unleashed his power while the enemies were distracted and transferred the Tomb of the Gods from the air to the ground. According to Euphemina, it was a ridiculous power. It was safe to say that the Tomb of the Gods was transferred, in other words, the dimension was transferred.

In any case, thanks to this, the group escaped unharmed and joined Hayate. The weather was very hot but their expression was bound to be bright.

“...There is someone who needs to be saved.”

On the other hand, Hayate’s face was stiff. The moment he opened his eyes, he got up and searched for a sword. Ruby and Sariel were stunned.

“Your wounds haven’t healed yet!”

“You must rest.”

Hayate was badly hurt. It wasn’t exaggerating at all to say that he had been on the verge of death just a moment ago. It was impossible for Ruby, who had consumed her divine power throughout the war, to fully restore him.

His mana and sword energy were also nearly depleted.

After seeing that there were no signs of recovery even after pouring the mana potions, it was clear that he had used up his Origin True Energy like Ken. The blond hair that was close to almost white was evidence of this.

Above all, there was no armor. The dragon armor that resembled Grid’s armor—the battle with the Old Dragons was so fierce that it seemed to have been destroyed.

“I’m sorry but there is no time to waste.” Hayate’s hand holding the sword blurred for a moment.

“...Uh?” The tower members and members of the Overgeared Guild rubbed their eyes.

Pure white sword energy spread in front of them and then divided into thousands of pieces. The bars made from the energy of a Dragon Slayer imprisoned hundreds of people.

Hayate had already disappeared without a trace.

“Shit!” Biban’s sharp eyes widened and he raised his power to smash the cage.

***

[U... Ughh....]

Navaldrea’s thick waist, which was comparable to the circumference of a great mountain, was half cut. Red magic power and intestines gushed out like lava. Her tail, which had always been touching the ground due to her habit of hiding for over a thousand years, hung down more than usual.

Navaldrea’s consciousness gradually faded.

‘Mother...’

She was looking for a chance for revenge and was lucky enough to witness the battle between the Dragon Slayer and Trauka. She closely watched the process of Trauka being physically drained and was convinced that she would never have a second chance at revenge unless it was this moment.

The result was a failure.

Her flames were swallowed up by Trauka’s flames. Every time her claws scratched at Trauka’s scales, Trauka’s claws repeatedly dug into her body. It was an overwhelming gap.

Residual fire...

She thought it was a fitting name for her trivial self.

[Just tell me one thing. Why did you let the Dragon Slayer live?]

Trauka growled as he clutched at Navaldrea’s neck. It was a fierce cry like a beast that had devoured the heart of his kin.

Navaldrea released weak embers on the face of Trauka, which was right in front of him, and grinned. [You... Fucking bastard...]

[That is lowly.] Trauka frowned and tightened his grip. He planned to decapitate this rude relative, kill her, and take the heart. It was while thinking that this was quite a windfall...

[...Um?]

Trauka quickly let go of Navaldrea’s neck. Then a pure white light made of sword energy passed by right in front of his hand. It was the energy of a Dragon Slayer. If he had been even a bit slower, then it would’ve cut his wrist.

Navaldrea was in a state where she had many wounds, but she resembled her mother so he was vigilant.

[You are back on your feet?]

Trauka laughed and shifted his gaze to the side. There was really someone there.

A man with bright, blond hair—perhaps it was out of a strange compulsion, but the shirt that had been crumpled earlier was stiff as if it had been ironed.

[Why are you here?] Navaldrea sighed. She looked several times more surprised than Trauka.

Why did the ‘hope’ that she managed to save come back to die on his own? She couldn’t understand the situation in front of her. The only emotion that the unexpected development gave her was despair.

The man read her inner thoughts clearly and opened his mouth, “It is because the hope you have to believe in isn’t me, but yourself.”

A few words revealed a noble dignity and character.

Dragon Slayer Hayate said goodbye in an upright and firm voice. “Please stay alive and find your mother’s benefactor.”

The sky turned white due to the hundreds of sword energies that rose like starlight. It was a space of dragon slaying that isolated Hayate and Trauka.