The deafening roar of a colossal dragon echoed through the space. At last freed, the Dragon of the End unleashed its full fury directly upon Joo Hyun-ho.
In that instant, Joo Hyun-ho felt as if his breath had been completely knocked out of him.
Magnacarta. Once the supreme ruler of the Whole Plain, the world’s pinnacle, and the first—and last—dragon to bear the title of “The End.”
No mere human—or even monster—could possibly withstand the wrath of such a dragon.
With a thud, Joo Hyun-ho finally collapsed, mouth agape, landing hard on his backside in a pitiful heap.
At that sight, Shin Jae-ryong’s face lit up with excitement. He didn’t understand why Helena was acting this way, but he sensed an opportunity. Just as he raised his staff high, Helena suddenly stretched out her hand to stop him.
“Enough.”
“…He-Helena?”
Shin Jae-ryong asked in confusion, but Helena slowly shook her head. He tried to intervene anyway, but an invisible force pressed down on him so heavily he couldn’t move a step—or even open his mouth.
It wasn’t just Shin Jae-ryong; everyone else was the same. The users all stared at Helena in stunned silence.
“Now that my power is unleashed, none of you—except me—may interfere.”
“…”
“This is a matter of my pride, and a promise I made with her. So just watch quietly.”
“…”
Was it truly the pride of a dragon? Or some kind of pact with the great hero Helena? Or perhaps a restriction?
It didn’t matter.
After a moment, Helena glared at Joo Hyun-ho with a look of utter disgust, her eyes sharp and fierce.
“Ecce, Deus. Stulte Seokin Monstrum.”
Her voice, low and beastly, struck Joo Hyun-ho like a blow.
“Eeeek!”
He let out a high-pitched scream, his face draining of color. Still slumped on the ground, he frantically kicked his legs. When Helena calmly raised her hand to aim at him, he ducked his head like a startled colt, even though nothing had happened yet.
Helena took a step forward.
“In Cunctis Capitibus Ejus! Et Noli Timere!”
Then another step.
“Numquid Non Expectas? Ecce!”
They were just words, but with every syllable Helena spoke, an overwhelming wave of magical power washed over Joo Hyun-ho’s entire body. It was an irresistible command, a divine authority.
In other words, the very essence of the Dragon’s Word.
“Ugh, aaaaaaah!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Joo Hyun-ho screamed and spun around, clawing at the dirt as he tried to crawl away.
But Helena quickly caught up. She gently placed a foot on his trembling back, and his movements froze instantly.
Like a mouse caught by a cat.
From the moment Helena stepped forward, Joo Hyun-ho’s body had been shaking uncontrollably. His breathing was ragged, as if he had asthma. His trembling head slowly turned to look at Helena.
“Why… why are you doing this only to me? What did I do so wrong…?”
His quivering voice was filled with tears, a pitiful plea of innocence and injustice.
Suddenly, his eyes clouded over, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Before long, he was sobbing.
Watching him cry, Helena smiled softly.
“Do you really not know why you’re asking?”
“Then why… ugh!”
But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Suddenly, Helena pressed down harder with her foot on his back. Joo Hyun-ho let out a strangled scream as his body was flattened like a dead frog.
Then—
“I…”
Joo Hyun-ho clenched his teeth tightly, fists balled up. His whining expression twisted into one of fierce anger, his eyes sparking with fury.
“You damn bitch…!”
In an instant, his attitude shifted. He jerked his head up as if shaking off something, wildly thrashing his limbs in a desperate tantrum. Helena’s eyes gleamed with a flicker of interest as she looked down at him.
“Ah, remarkable. Among all phenomena in the universe, you have defied death itself… or perhaps, have you experienced death before?”
Her tone was almost approving.
But the moment she said that, Joo Hyun-ho’s movements froze automatically. Memories of the square flashed through his mind—the torment of Kim Soo-hyun, the cold blade piercing his insides…
“Graaah!”
He howled. The black tattoos covering his body flared bright red. Spreading his arms wide, he let out a guttural roar as he slowly rose to his feet.
Helena chuckled softly and withdrew her foot. Joo Hyun-ho sprang up, spinning around to glare at her with murderous intent.
“The tables have turned. I swear I’ll tear your mouth apart, you damn bitch!”
“An interesting one you are. Such arrogance, it pierces the heavens.”
Helena shrugged, as if daring him to try.
Joo Hyun-ho immediately took a step back. Forming hand signs with both hands, he began chanting a spell.
“───. ───. ───.”
His forehead veins bulged, cold sweat pouring down like rain.
But Helena just watched quietly. Then, with a mocking smile, she raised her right hand toward the ceiling.
“The sun that lights the sky is the source of unending wisdom.”
Her left hand swept down toward the ground.
“The eye that watches over the earth is the heart of this body.”
At that moment—
The instant she finished speaking, Helena’s entire body began to glow with a faint dawn light. A soft, radiant glow filled the space known as the King’s Den, as if piercing through all things.
“Why, were you planning to embrace me and self-destruct?”
“───. ───. ───. Wh-what?!”
Joo Hyun-ho, eyes squeezed shut as he muttered his spell, suddenly gasped. When he opened his eyes reflexively, he met Helena’s steady gaze.
Her vertically slit eyes blazed with golden fire.
Then, Joo Hyun-ho felt an unavoidable terror of death closing in from all sides. In the blink of an eye, an intangible force crushed his entire body mercilessly.
“By the way, this is a sealed power that even subdued a creature called Mikra. Let’s see how strong your will really is.”
Bang!
“Ughk!”
Just one strike sent a gush of blood flying from Joo Hyun-ho’s mouth. At the same time, a single drop of blood trickled from Helena’s lips.
It was inevitable. The magic Helena wielded now was a death sentence, a power only a dragon could use. Such high-level power naturally came with backlash.
Though her power was temporarily unleashed, the source was still a human body. In truth, Helena’s body had been a speeding train hurtling toward death ever since Kim Soo-hyun revived her.
In other words, a collapse caused by the disharmony of the vessel containing her soul. Even if she did nothing, she would die within a few years. The more she used her power, the faster the decay. This backlash was an inescapable curse for Helena.
But it was a burden she accepted the moment she chose resurrection.
Despite the crushing pressure on his entire body, Joo Hyun-ho was somehow holding on. He struggled to glare at Helena, desperately clinging to his will to fight.
Helena noticed her vision growing slightly blurred. Her body kept sounding alarms, warning of the risk of collapse.
Slowly, she raised her hand and pointed at Joo Hyun-ho. At the same time, she instinctively shut down her senses, forcing her wavering mind to focus sharply.
“Burn.”
The intangible force pressing down on Joo Hyun-ho suddenly transformed. It erupted into a blinding, tangible light accompanied by a thunderous explosion. Golden flames, identical to Helena’s hair, engulfed Joo Hyun-ho’s entire body, devouring him greedily.
Fwoooosh!
“Ahhhhhhh!”
A desperate scream tore from his throat. Joo Hyun-ho felt every cell in his body boil and crumble. His eyes rolled back like a woman hanging in midair, blood seeping from every pore, burning away to ash.
Fwoooosh, fwoooosh!
In the end, Ju Hyun-ho’s body began to blacken and char, unable to endure any longer. Yet, even as this happened, he stubbornly refused to die. He screamed out in desperate agony, a primal cry begging for survival.
For the first time, a flicker of admiration crossed Helena’s face as she watched.
The flames Helena had summoned weren’t meant to cause mere physical harm. They were a purifying blaze aimed at the complete incineration of the soul itself. Normally, a human wouldn’t last ten seconds before their mind shattered, long before their body gave out.
But Ju Hyun-ho endured. His mind remained intact. What made this possible was none other than his unique, unyielding will to survive.
Though Helena had blocked her senses from the grisly scene, she soon realized blood was trickling not just from her mouth, but also her nose and ears.
Some time passed. Her gaze narrowed as Ju Hyun-ho’s desperate screams gradually faded.
Just a little longer. If he could hold on just a bit more, his soul would be utterly destroyed—never to set foot in this world again.
That was when—
Thud!
Suddenly, Helena’s body lurched violently from side to side.
Moments later, the dawn-like light that had enveloped her vanished as if it had never been there. The flames consuming Ju Hyun-ho’s body flickered out as well. As his charred form collapsed helplessly, Helena barely managed to glance sideways.
“…”
When had this happened?
To her right stood a fully grown monstrosity, expressionless. The creature’s right fist was buried deep in Helena’s side. As it twisted and pulled free, thick blood and crushed organs spilled out.
“A mistake,” she muttered.
It was literally a mistake. Even discounting the sensory block, the attack had come so suddenly. The form that had lain motionless moments ago suddenly sprang forward, striking Helena.
As Helena’s body slowly tilted, the oppressive force restraining the users dissipated.
“Helena!”
Ahn Hyun shouted, brandishing a black spear as he charged forward.
Swish!
Dozens of tentacles surged from all directions.
Though their power and speed had diminished, Father was still a monster. Having claimed countless users in the first round, there was no room for complacency.
The tentacles writhed fiercely, as if determined to seize me this time. But with a light step, I slipped past them as if gliding through air. The battle had become a tedious game of nerves—as long as I focused on defense.
How much longer do I have to wait?
I circled Father, occasionally cutting down tentacles to keep his attention.
I grumbled inwardly, wondering how long this charade would last.
But the reply from Hwajeong caught me off guard.
33 seconds?
Come to think of it, a few things had changed.
Suddenly, darkness spread around us, staining the ground black. That had to be Ko Yeon-ju’s shadow. Yet beyond coloring the earth, no further action was taken.
Father’s behavior had also grown somewhat passive. His movements were noticeably slower than before—not simply fatigue, but a confused hesitation, as if unsure what to do next.
What on earth was going on? I sighed and easily swatted aside a tentacle rushing at me from the side.
Hwajeong’s responses had been clipped and precise since earlier—ever since I teased her, in fact. It was clear she was sulking.
I wanted to apologize and soothe her, but instead I gripped my sword tighter. Victoria’s Glory had long been stowed away. To fulfill Hwajeong’s request, a one-handed sword was optimal.
I shook off my wavering focus and tensed my body, just like when I first faced Father.
Then—
Fwaaak!
Suddenly, the dark shadows around us vomited out countless white threads.
That was… bind magic?
I thought that was my cue to move, but Hwajeong stopped me, telling me to hold on.
Waiting was the right choice.
Thousands of bind spells wrapped tightly around Father’s tentacles. Like a fisherman reeling in a catch, the ensnared limbs were pulled taut and immobilized.
They became a kind of support—no, multiple supports.
At last, the dark shadow surged upward, engulfing Father like a tidal wave.
Using the now-rigid tentacles as anchors, the shadow coiled around Father, filling every gap between him and his limbs with blackness, then draping over him from above.
All this happened in less than two seconds, unfolding in rapid succession.
Only now did I grasp the users’ plan.
In a fleeting moment, most of Father’s tentacles would be forcibly sealed, creating a rare opening.
An opening to land a proper, decisive blow!
“Now!”
Hwajeong shouted.
I just had to plunge my sword in. No time to hesitate. The moment I heard her cry, I was already charging forward.
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
A few tentacles slipped free and lunged at me again. I summoned my magic for the Transformation Shift, preparing to strike.
But then, a cold sensation seeped into my chest. Father’s earlier sluggishness flashed through my mind.
Father knew the users’ plan. Yet he allowed it to happen. Or rather, he let it happen on purpose.
Why?
Before I could ponder further, the Transformation Shift activated.
My vision shifted. Instinctively, I summoned magic repeatedly and crouched low. Then, I stretched out fully and unleashed the Divine Spirit’s Swift Strike.
In that moment—who truly believed victory was theirs?
Bang!
My body was flung back as a massive tentacle slammed across my back. The force was unlike before. Father had realized the users’ scheme and was preparing a desperate counterattack.
But I dodged.
I thrust my right foot forward, feeling the earth beneath it, then pushed off with all my might, driving myself into Father’s side.
In an instant, countless images flashed before my eyes. When Father’s body finally came into focus, I held my breath and drove my concentrated strike straight through.
Thud!
It felt like piercing a rotten log.
And then, I saw it clearly—the sword’s form had changed without me realizing.
The blade, usually invisible, suddenly blazed with dazzling light, whipping up a fierce whirlwind.
Vrrrrrrrrrr!
『The power to transcend dimensions forcibly summons the true form of the Swordless.』
『The symbol of the Chaos King, the Sword of the Exterminator, reveals its genuine self!』
Suddenly, my vision was engulfed in a dark radiance.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
On second thought, this is too embarrassing—I’m deleting the afterword.