Episode 326: Grandmaster (4)
In the hidden world, dragons move according to the will of the Elder Council.
This isn’t simply because the elder dragons are old.
It’s because they are living legends who have all experienced the surface world.
In the past, these elder dragons ruled the land and were regarded as living catastrophes.
Intelligent races feared them, calling them names like evil dragons, mad dragons, and celestial dragons, and avoided them at all costs.
In the monster-filled continents of the past, the only race that could stand against dragons were the demons.
─Gah!
─Ack!
Yet, these once-mighty elder dragons were now helpless, reduced to cries of agony.
They were pierced through by lines extending from Erebus.
It was an unbelievable sight.
A dragon’s scales are the ultimate armor, deflecting all attacks. Their muscles are as tough as woven rare metals, and their bones are so hard that even an aura blade struggles to cut through them.
But the lines pierced through the scales effortlessly, penetrating the muscles and bones hidden beneath.
─Ack!
─Argh!
Even more baffling was the reaction of the elder dragons afterward.
Compared to them, the lines were so thin. It seemed they could shake them off with a simple movement.
Yet, the elder dragons trembled in pain, like fish skewered on a spear.
Erebus’s power is to annihilate.
The pain felt during annihilation is not of the body but of the soul.
And the pain of the soul is incomparable to that of the body.
─Ugh…
─Urgh…
Thus, the dragons could do nothing but remain still.
Moreover, these lines were the very essence of Erebus’s power. Having their bodies pierced by it, they couldn’t dare to move recklessly.
“Everyone…”
Iris muttered, her face a mask of shock.
Among the dragons present, only Iris remained unharmed.
It wasn’t because Damian spared her. It was simply that, in targeting the massive dragons, the human-shaped Iris was inadvertently overlooked.
“This… this technique… I don’t remember anything like it…”
And she wouldn’t.
This was a technique Damian had mastered in his past life while battling the Empire’s greatest swordsman.
In that life, the Empire’s greatest swordsman had come wielding the divine sword ‘El De’ to fight Damian.
The divine sword had fallen from the sky during the War of Destruction, its origin and source unknown, yet it held power as formidable as Erebus.
To defeat the swordsman wielding the divine sword, Damian had to push Erebus’s power to its limits.
This technique, compressing the power into lines, was something he had learned then.
“Iris.”
Damian called her name, and Iris turned to him, startled.
“You know a lot about Erebus, don’t you? Then you must also know that I’m sparing you all.”
Erebus’s power can annihilate anything.
If Damian released the lines, the compressed power would expand, and the dragons would vanish.
But Damian had only pinned the dragons with the lines, not killed them.
Killing them was easy. But there were still tasks for the dragons to perform.
”…You want something from us.”
“Before we get to that, there’s something you need to do first.”
“Tell me.”
“You must swear, in dragon tongue, that all dragons of the hidden world will obey me.”
Iris’s face hardened for a moment before relaxing.
“Damian, that’s absurd. A vow of obedience in dragon tongue? That’s impossible…”
Damian moved the lines. The lines embedded in the elders began to vibrate.
─Argh!
─Ack!
The dragons screamed in unison. Iris pressed her lips tightly together at the sound.
“Don’t spout nonsense. I know it’s possible.”
Among the knowledge Dorgo had imparted to Damian was information about dragons and their language.
The dragon tongue was so powerful that even dragons couldn’t escape its binding.
A vow of obedience in dragon tongue meant a lifetime of servitude for the dragon.
“Decide now. Will you obey me, or will you lose your entire race here and now?”
Damian spoke with a firm tone. A deep conflict appeared on Iris’s face.
”…Alright. We’ll do it.”
─Iris, no! You can’t!
One of the elder dragons shouted at Iris. It was a blue dragon with azure scales.
Damian immediately released the line piercing the blue dragon’s shoulder.
As the line was released and the power expanded, the blue dragon’s shoulder was blown away entirely.
─Argh!
The blue dragon’s wail echoed high into the sky. Damian spoke coldly to the dragon.
“Shut up. Or I’ll take your head next.”
At Damian’s threat, the blue dragon clamped its mouth shut.
“Those who won’t obey me can keep their mouths shut. But they’ll have to give up their lives.”
Damian looked around at the dragons.
“The choice is yours. So, what will it be?”
A deep hesitation appeared on the dragons’ faces.
In the end, all the elder dragons swore obedience to Damian.
Damian could feel their souls connecting with each vow spoken in dragon tongue.
”…Are you satisfied now?”
Iris, having made the final vow, spoke with a face full of hostility.
“No, the real work begins now. Open a dimensional gate to the Empire immediately.”
The reason Damian spared the dragons was to use the dimensional gate.
Opening a dimensional gate required extensive knowledge and experience. Even Damian couldn’t open one.
Though he had knowledge from Dorgo, it would take time to make it work, and he didn’t have that luxury now.
“Are you really planning to go to the Empire?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Damian glared at Iris.
Under Damian’s intense gaze, Iris’s expression hardened.
Iris immediately used the dragon tongue to open a dimensional gate to the Empire.
A vast gate opened in the sky of the hidden world. Damian stood before it without hesitation.
“Valhard!”
However, Damian didn’t step through the gate immediately.
At his call, Valhard cautiously stepped forward from among the elders.
─Why did you call me… Oh, you want me to say goodbye? I wish you a safe journey.
“What nonsense. You’re coming with me.”
─What? Me too?
“I need you to open the gate whenever necessary.”
The reason for sparing the dragon was to use the gate, so leaving Valhard behind was not an option.
Moreover, Valhard was a reliable ally. He would be a great help in battles against demons.
Valhard rolled his eyes silently. Damian frowned and spoke.
“Follow me if you don’t want to die.”
─Understood!
Damian and Valhard stepped through the gate together.
In an instant, the scenery of the hidden world transformed into the capital of the Empire.
But the Empire looked vastly different from what Damian remembered.
The buildings were all destroyed, leaving a barren wasteland. The once-tall walls were completely collapsed on one side.
In the midst of it all stood demons.
There was Vahel, along with demons Damian had never seen before. Asta and Alter, whom Damian had defeated, were also there.
“Oh? It’s Damian!”
Vahel waved his arm upon recognizing Damian.
Instead of responding to the greeting, Damian looked at Vahel’s feet.
There lay the Empire’s greatest swordsman and Cheongyeom, both bloodied and fallen.
Just minutes before Damian’s arrival.
The Empire’s greatest swordsman and Cheongyeom were relentlessly attacking Vahel.
It was their first time working together, yet they moved as if they were one.
Cheongyeom unleashed a barrage of blue flames, pummeling Vahel’s entire body.
True to his title as the fastest martial artist, Cheongyeom’s movements were so swift they left afterimages.
The Empire’s greatest swordsman targeted the gaps Cheongyeom couldn’t cover, unleashing slashes with his mind blade upon Vahel.
The combined assault of the two grandmasters was overwhelmingly violent and powerful.
“Hahaha! This is quite the spectacle!”
Yet Vahel withstood all the attacks as if they were nothing.
With the power of isolation, he deflected Cheongyeom’s strikes with his reinforced arms and took the mind blade attacks head-on.
Despite this, not a single scratch appeared on Vahel’s body.
“You hellish scum, you’re quite strong!”
Unable to hold back, Cheongyeom shouted, veins bulging on his forehead.
“Thanks for the compliment. You’re pretty strong too.”
Vahel said, momentarily shifting his gaze.
In the distance, he saw Laria and Bas fighting.
They too were being overwhelmed by a combined assault.
“Those guys, they’re called the Five Saints, right?”
Vahel pointed at those attacking Laria and Bas.
“They’re not grandmasters, yet they’re fighting well.”
Even considering the miracles performed by the clergy and the Empire’s pact weakening the demons, the Five Saints were displaying remarkable combat prowess.
Laria and Bas were being pushed back, unable to keep up.
“But it’s strange. There are four of you. Why are you called the Five Saints?”
“You talk too much, it’s annoying!”
“Oh, I just have a lot of questions.”
Vahel said with an awkward smile.
“Then rejoice.”
“About what?”
“You’ll soon understand why we’re called the Five Saints, firsthand.”
Before Cheongyeom could finish speaking, someone appeared behind Vahel.
Even Bahel hadn’t sensed the presence. He spun around, startled.
An elderly man, as old as Cheongyeom, stood there. His body was gaunt, and his skin was lined with wrinkles.
Yet, Bahel felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding emanating from him.
“Oh dear, brother. I’m not one to step onto the battlefield myself,” the old man groaned.
Cheongyeom snapped, “Hyeonam! Is this really the time for jokes?”
“Don’t rush me. Everything’s ready,” Hyeonam replied calmly.
He reached out and pulled at the air, and in an instant, thin threads wrapped around Bahel’s entire body.
“What is this…?”
No, they weren’t threads. They were strands of darkness, drawn out thin.
Hyeonam, the Sage of Shadows.
The leader of the sect ‘Clamorous Shadow.’
His power was nullification.
The priests of Clamorous Shadow could erase magic, powers, and everything else using their divine energy.
The darkness enveloping Bahel began to consume his powers. The isolation power that had protected him vanished.
“Now!” Cheongyeom and the Empire’s greatest swordsman launched their attack simultaneously. Their most powerful strikes hit Bahel with full force.
Bahel spat blood as he was sent flying, skidding across the ground.
“Gasp, gasp.”
Cheongyeom and the swordsman panted heavily.
“Did we get him?” Hyeonam muttered, staring at the spot where Bahel had fallen.
Just then, Bahel rose to his feet. But he looked different from before.
He had grown larger, and three horns protruded from his forehead.
─Hahaha!
Bahel laughed loudly, his face alight with joy.
─I never thought I’d have to reveal my true form to anyone other than ‘that guy’! This is truly entertaining!
Bahel glanced at the three of them, his eyes glowing red.
─In return, I’ll get a bit serious too.
He extended his hand, and a rectangular pillar shot up from beneath Cheongyeom’s feet.
Cheongyeom quickly crossed his arms to block, but it wasn’t enough.
His arms bent, and the pillar struck him in the solar plexus.
“Ugh!”
Cheongyeom’s body soared into the air before crashing down. Hyeonam shouted in shock.
“Brother!”
At that moment, something strange appeared before Hyeonam’s eyes.
A pebble, rough like a salt crystal, materialized in front of him.
“What is this…?”
The pebble grew, its protrusions extending. Hyeonam was crushed beneath them.
─If you two can’t even dodge this, that’s disappointing.
Bahel turned his gaze to the Empire’s greatest swordsman.
─I hope you’re a bit different.
The swordsman silently raised his blade.
And met the same fate as the others.
“Are you worried about them?” Bahel asked, nudging the swordsman with his toe.
“Don’t worry. They’re still alive.”
“That’s a relief.”
Demian activated the power of envy, transforming all his internal energy into dark magic.
As he harnessed the nameless martial art, Demian’s eyes glowed with a crimson light.
“You really are the most entertaining,” Bahel remarked, watching Demian with a hint of admiration.
“I have someone I need to find quickly… but I can’t leave someone as interesting as you behind.”
Demian moved. Bahel pushed off the ground.
The two vanished, colliding in mid-air moments later.