Chapter 1917
[You are faster than Hayate.]
The huge eyes that originally contained the universe were on fire—it was ominous because it seemed to imply a fire that would engulf the whole world.
[You are stronger than Hayate.]
Trauka was honest in his a.s.sessment of Biban and Marie Rose.
In fact, Biban’s big sword had grown to its limit and was relentlessly breaking Trauka’s red scales. On the other hand, Trauka’s Breath, pouring out in all directions, couldn"t even touch Marie Rose’s hair. It missed time and time again.
Nevertheless, the flow of the battle wasn’t good.
Trauka’s front paw, which had bright red skin exposed, finally grabbed hold of Biban’s large sword and prevented him from moving it. The claws were the original source of the dragon weapon. Now the more strength that the claws used, the more the giant sword screamed like it was going to break.
Marie Rose suffered persistent burns from Trauka’s snorting that exhaled the residual heat of the Breath. She was forced to use the power of vampirism to recover.
[However, that isn’t enough to replace Hayate.]
The reason why Trauka was critically wounded by the Dragon Killing Sword was because it was the rule of the world. It was a rule based on none other than the laws made by Hayate himself. It was unique and great. It was an extremely unconventional power that made the originally perfect Old Dragons incomplete. Moreover, the reason why the ‘weight’ of Hayate’s sword was lighter than Biban’s sword was because Hayate was controlling the ‘Infinite Sword Energy.’
It was an obvious ploy. Looking back now, Hayate was a tenacious and clever hunter. In order to subdue the beasts that were bigger and stronger than himself, he set an invisible trap at every moment. Then he sacrificed himself to tempt the beast to step into the trap.
The reason why Trauka acknowledged Hayate’s greatness, but hated and cursed him to the end, was because he had repeatedly felt the illusion that he had become a small object when fighting Hayate.
Meanwhile, it was different against Biban. Biban’s swordsmans.h.i.+p might be sophisticated and powerful, but Trauka didn’t feel uneasy. Trauka could handle swords that were bound by the rules.
[Also, Hayate had convictions.]
The history of the desert—the traces of blood shed by all creatures that had lived on this land as they went through countless events and incidents, reacted to Marie Rose’s magic power and surged up. The sight of it eventually forming a sea was overwhelming.
In fact, the sea of blood was corroding and weakening Trauka’s scales. The intense heat evaporated half the blood, but Trauka felt a great deal of pressure. Still, it was at a bearable level.
Trauka couldn’t imagine himself falling. It was because Marie Rose wasn’t desperate. Unlike Hayate, who believed that Trauka must be killed and destroyed, she had no intention of risking her life. She was in a position to discuss eternal life, but she acted more insignificant than Hayate, who lived with only one life. In a way, it was a difference in belief.
[Therefore, you will be reduced to ashes.]
Trauka took a step forward and the sea of blood, boiling like lava, overflowed uncontrollably.
Biban was unable to free himself because he was caught by the sword. He ended up covered in blood and suffered terrible burns all over his body.
Marie Rose actually recovered thanks to it. No matter whether it was hot or cold, as long as it was blood, it was always beneficial to her. Instead, she used the blood that poured in like a tidal wave as a resource to unleash dozens of types of blood magic.
Trauka didn’t bother to cast protective magic. He simply swung his wings widely and created a storm. The dozens of spells failed to hit Trauka and missed. Each spell had an accuracy correction imprinted in it but it was useless. The spells swept away by the storm corrected their trajectory. However, they soon exploded uncontrollably, unable to withstand the air pressure before they could reach Trauka.
“How ignorant.”
Canceling out magic with physical force—Marie Rose’s position as she shook her head at that sight was abruptly under Trauka’s chin. It was a place that was difficult to see due to a dragon’s physical structure. Her hands were imbued with blood and sharpened like a sword, cutting at the Adam’s apple.
Loud sparks occurred and Trauka’s scales were severed. The cutting surface was neat. A clear scar was carved on Trauka’s neck where his defense was lost. Of course, the wound wasn’t deep. It was practically impossible to dig into the thick flesh of a dragon and cut through the bones when the power of the blood sword was halved by cutting through the scales. Additionally, the cut scales were regenerating in real time.
Marie Rose was trying to link another attack before the regeneration was completed, only to suddenly turn to mist and disperse. At the same time, Trauka’s claws cut through the mist.
“Haaaaaap!”
Trauka’s counterattack missed and Biban released a shout that came from his lower abdomen. He retrieved the sword that had been captured by Trauka and watched a half-moon sword light engraved in the s.p.a.ce. It was an arbitrary reduction and expansion of the size of the sword. It even disturbed the senses of an Old Dragon.
Eventually, an eerie sound rang out. He succeeded in cutting at Trauka’s Adam’s apple just before the scales regenerated. A large amount of blood was scattered in all directions.
Biban knew that even this was Hayate’s credit. The reason why Trauka’s Absolute Defense didn’t fully work right now was due to the wound that Hayate inflicted on the Dragon Heart.
‘I... If only I had been with you.’
Blood flowed down Biban’s cheeks and chin as he gritted his teeth. The blood and sweat flowing from his head mixed together like tears. They were tears that projected a decaying heart.
Biban wanted to go back in time to a few hours ago. He wanted to stand beside Hayate, who stood alone in the way of the Old Dragons. Of course, most of the tower members would’ve ended up killed by Kubartos, but reality was still cold. Biban was keenly realizing that he should’ve preserved Hayate’s power, even if it meant sacrificing himself and all the other tower members.
He was conscious of the other Old Dragons. Trauka might seem cornered right now, but Biban knew that things would turn around the moment Raiders or Nevartan arrived at the scene. This was why Biban resented himself for not being able to protect Hayate.
He cursed his self from a few hours ago who had the vain dream of ‘I will protect everyone.’ He was someone who had been hiding for hundreds of years.
Today, why did he see the world as easily and beautifully as a fairy tale? Suddenly, Grid came to mind. The benefactor he was grateful to who had given him hope many times before. He made the world as beautiful as a fairy tale. Biban missed him terribly today.
Suddenly, Biban’s body became a dot. It was the aftermath of blocking Trauka’s tail, which flew through the sea of blood that was split in half. He was pushed completely out of the battlefield.
“Cough...!”
Dark red blood was mixed with shattered pieces of his internal organs.
Biban had no time to deal with the pain and used Shunpo. He went back the way he came. He repeatedly narrowed the distance to the far away battlefield while clearing up his complicated head and making up his mind.
‘I have to repay the favor.’
It would be foolish to hold back power in preparation for the Old Dragons that might appear at any time.
The odds of victory were already gone at the moment the Old Dragons joined. It was right to aim to clean up the situation before that. He burned his life force, whether it was out of a desire to not make Hayate’s sacrifice in vain or to show respect to Grid, who would definitely return soon.
It should’ve been like this from the beginning.
Above the battlefield, a dragon with jewel-like red scales continuously breathed out fire.
The muscles in Biban’s arms started to swell when he saw the desert, which was covered in blood and fire and looked more vicious than the old h.e.l.l.
On the other hand, his sword became smaller. However, the expectations and weight multiplied by several times.
Biban’s mental world was in sync with the dragon weapon that Grid had created. It was a mental world that bestowed the t.i.tle of ‘G.o.d’ on a single human being and made him an Absolute. The potential contained in it was endless. At the heart of it was the desire to kill a dragon.
[......!]
Trauka’s eyes widened. He had been laughing at the ugliness of Marie Rose, who missed the opportunity to stab the Dragon Heart in order to avoid the Breath.
Then he felt Hayate’s presence.
Hayate definitely died?
Trauka quickly raised his head to check the ident.i.ty of the presence and Biban’s image was engraved in Trauka’s burning eyes.
An eerie aura that glowed an incandescent white—Biban had the distinct energy of a Dragon Slayer wrapped around his body and he was falling like a comet. He had a desire to kill Trauka without fail. It was as if he was trying to replace Hayate, who had died.
He couldn’t understand his target. It was to the point where Trauka was disgusted.
Suddenly, the landscape of the battlefield changed. The flames that had burned the entire desert and lit up the night were extinguished in an instant. The desert became cold when night was restored. The sea of blood cooled down.
After a split second of silence, the sun soon rose. It was an artificial sun that rose from the mouth of Trauka as he raised his long neck upright. It was the precursor to the Breath that was created by absorbing not only his magic power, but also all the heat around him.
The energy coming from it was unusual. Biban knew he would never be able to handle it. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop moving forward.
Trauka fired his Breath. It was a Breath with a diameter of several hundred meters. It was impossible to avoid it from the time it was shot. The pillar of flames that burned everything turned the world white. Biban couldn’t see anything. The usage of Shunpo was blocked.
Biban just fell straight down.
The dragon weapon—he grasped the possibility of killing a dragon with his blood-covered hands while holding the image of the target, Trauka, in his unwavering hands. In an instant, he threw himself into the Breath that was facing him.
The energy of a Dragon Slayer wrapped around his body shook like it would go out. The cracked skin heated up like live charcoal. The blood of Biban’s body evaporated. The ten fingers of his holding the sword melted away one after another...
Soon—
By the time Biban pierced through the Breath and arrived in front of Trauka, he only had three mummified fingers remaining. Even these fingers were turning to ashes and were barely retaining their shape.
Black smoke billowed from his head where part of the skull was exposed. It was as if his brain had been burned down. Nevertheless, the appearance of Biban not letting go of the sword and finally plunging it into Trauka’s forehead clearly resembled Hayate to some extent.
[...Kuaaack!!]
Today—Trauka let out a second scream. He couldn’t endure the pain that far exceeded the total amount of pain he had experienced in his lifetime.
Marie Rose didn’t dare to denounce it as ugly. Biban’s tenacity was special to her as well. The smile disappeared from her beautiful face, just like when she saw her mother trying to devour her.
Blood erupted like an active volcano from Trauka’s forehead and was drawn away in response to Marie Rose’s power. It was the precursor to vampirism. A sip of the blood of an Old Dragon. No, even if she could only take one drop, Marie Rose’s combat power would be amplified for a moment.
It was a fact that Trauka also knew.
[How... dare you...?!]
The s.p.a.ce turned red. It was Trauka’s heat. He operated his wounded Dragon Heart at the cost of tremendous aftereffects. The result was certain. Just before a drop of blood touched Marie Rose’s skin, all of Trauka’s blood in the air evaporated and disappeared.
Just as he did throughout the battle, Trauka never gave any of the blood he shed to the vampire ruler.
This time, the heat was hotter than ever. It seemed like even the sea of blood evaporated and flames clung to Marie Rose’s dress. They were flames that didn’t go out.
“......”
Marie Rose stepped back. The reason she conceived her child wasn’t for herself. She was distinctly different from Beriache. Therefore, it was imperative for her to protect the child in her womb. But...
But she didn’t think she should back down like this. Grid’s grieving appearance came to mind. The possibility of her dear husband suffering from this guilt for the rest of his life couldn’t be tolerated. It was a matter of pride before love. In the end—
“Drink.” Marie Rose stood by Biban’s side instead of fleeing underground. She slit her wrist and fed it to the dying human.
Duguen...!
Biban’s heart, which had been reduced to ashes by the flames that raged inside him, started beating again. His lungs, which had lost their function, coughed up air.
[It is a meaningless effort.]
It happened as Marie Rose took care of Biban, who hadn’t come to his senses despite his wounds recovering...
Trauka’s angry voice rang out loudly. The flames that had been burning Marie Rose’s dress suddenly died down.
It was a negative sign. The heat around them was being sucked into Trauka’s mouth. Once again, the sun was forming.
“...I don’t mean to have an extramarital affair.” Marie Rose realized that it was too late to escape and placed her mouth on Biban’s dry neck.
Flas.h.!.+
Suddenly, two diagonal lines intersected on Trauka’s giant body.
The vast desert was cut like a cake—it was even into four exactly equal parts. It was the result of the s.p.a.ce Sword of the present day Sword Saint and the previous generation Sword Saint. Of course, the Old Dragon’s body wasn’t cut, but the sun in his mouth was reduced to an insignificant remnant and scattered.
On the other side of the sky, the Tomb of the G.o.ds started the bombardment.