Episode 76
Chapter 25: An Unthinkable Fake (Part 1)
‘These crazy bastards… I never expected them to confess so shamelessly.’
Though I was certain they had kidnapped Latri, seeing them so brazen only left me dumbfounded.
And their attitude—willing to eliminate a dragon like Quicantel without hesitation—made it clear that this wasn’t just some petty matter. The core power of Ziphl was definitely involved in whatever was going on with Latri and Enya.
‘They even casually demand Enya’s release. These guys are either hunting down other divine contractors outside of Ziphl to use or eliminate them.’
It looked like a battle was about to break out, but I couldn’t intervene just yet.
‘I’ll step in only if Quicantel’s in danger or if a clear opportunity for a surprise attack arises.’
And since Andrei and Buretta still didn’t know about Jin and Murakan, it was wiser to observe the situation for now.
“I’ve never really liked you, Quicantel,” Buretta shouted, spreading her wings.
Magic surged along the gusts her wings stirred, and whirlwinds began to engulf Quicantel from all sides.
Whoooosh!
The spirals moved like giant serpents. Sharp winds shredded nearby trees, but Quicantel just scoffed.
‘You don’t seriously think you can take me down with some childish gusts, do you?’
The power was roughly that of an 8th-rank spell—not something to dismiss lightly.
Still, it wasn’t enough to pierce Quicantel’s outer scales. She didn’t even bother dodging, taking the wind head-on—not out of arrogance, but because she genuinely felt no need to avoid it.
The whirlwinds scraped against Quicantel’s silver scales, producing a grating sound so intense it made my ears ring.
But that was all.
The spirals failed to chip off a single scale and soon died down completely.
The ground around looked like it had been bombarded, torn up and overturned, yet Quicantel stood tall and unshaken, just as before.
Buretta’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh…! Impressive!”
Andrei let out a shaky breath of admiration.
Quicantel found Andrei’s calm demeanor irritating, yet couldn’t help but be somewhat unsettled by it.
Andrei Ziphl—the 9th-rank archmage known as the “Wind King.”
Everyone knew he was powerful as Ziphl’s deputy lord, but very few truly understood the extent of his strength.
Most who fought him never lived to tell the tale. So people could only guess at his true power.
Quicantel herself didn’t have much information on him.
‘So the title “Wind King” isn’t just for show, huh? Arrogant fool. Show me what you’ve got. Once I start rampaging, you won’t get many chances.’
“This old man will finally give his all. Let’s enjoy this, Silver Dragon of Time,” Andrei said, his staff beginning to glow.
The release of magical power—the signal that a mage was entering combat.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen a 9th-rank archmage’s power release in person.’
In an instant, the land within a 500-meter radius was bathed in a blue magical aura. This was no ordinary display.
As a contractor of Melzayer, the god of wind, Andrei’s magic was the wind itself. Every breeze on the island was his weapon.
And wind is invisible. You can see it compressed and hurled, distorting space, but the wind itself has no form.
Which means—
Andrei’s wind could become an invisible sword.
Or an intangible spear, piercing his foes.
The space around Andrei began to warp with the flow of wind. But within that distorted field, no one could predict what might strike next.
“Just so you know…”
Andrei smiled gently and extended a finger.
“I’m quite strong against dragons. So be careful.”
Sssshhh!
A compressed spike of wind shot from Andrei’s fingertip.
Quicantel, sensing danger, quickly spread her wings, took flight, and prepared to counterattack with her breath.
But Andrei’s claim wasn’t empty boasting.
‘My flight… it’s blocked!?’
Despite flapping her massive wings with all her might, no wind stirred. Her wings felt heavier than usual, as if moving underwater.
A windless zone.
A divine seal only a contractor of Melzayer could create.
Within the area where Andrei’s magic was active, nothing could fly without his permission.
And losing the ability to fly was a devastating blow to a dragon’s combat prowess.
Kra-shk!
Andrei’s wind spike struck Quicantel’s chest. A few scales shattered and fell to the ground, and at the same moment, Buretta soared into the sky.
‘These bastards…!’
‘You’re strong, but you were too complacent.’
Buretta’s breath descended in dozens of curved streams. Quicantel raised a magical shield, but Andrei was already casting a new spell.
This one wasn’t powered by Melzayer’s contract.
It was Ziphl’s secret magic—Lightning Storm. Sharp, crackling currents gathered in Andrei’s grasp.
Being a contractor of Melzayer didn’t mean he was limited to wind magic. Just as Jin could freely wield other elements alongside his spiritual energy.
‘This is bad. Damn it…!’
Without landing a single meaningful blow, Quicantel was being cornered.
Should I intervene now?
Just as Jin gave a subtle nod, Murakan shook his head lightly.
“Quicantel was careless, that’s true. But they underestimated him too much. Let’s watch a little longer. If we act now, it’ll bruise his pride.”
No sooner had Murakan finished speaking than Andrei’s spell was complete.
Fierce currents of electricity poured toward Quicantel. Hundreds of lightning bolts, blindingly bright, intertwined with Buretta’s breath.
Even Jin, protected by spiritual energy and standing some distance away, felt a tingling numbness all over.
This was truly the power worthy of Ziphl’s deputy lord.
But no matter how powerful a spell is, it’s meaningless if it doesn’t hit its target.
Quicantel had already activated the power of time, freezing Andrei’s magic in place.
Just as Andrei controlled the wind as Melzayer’s contractor, Quicantel, as the Silver Dragon of Olta, controlled time itself.
‘Not bad at all.’
The crackling lightning bolts piled up before Quicantel like a wall.
A clash of divine powers.
Andrei lowered his staff and descended to the ground. His eyes gleamed with a strange, hungry desire.
“Such a tempting power… Haha. Seeing it with my own eyes stirs the blood in this old body.”
Quicantel didn’t respond, calmly slipping out of the frozen space.
‘Now it’s my turn.’
Still unable to fly.
Yet Quicantel was confident she could dominate the skies.
‘I can’t fly, but you won’t be able to move a single finger!’
Kreeeeeng!
A sharp resonance rang out as waves began spreading from Quicantel’s forehead.
Like ripples from a stone dropped into a lake, the massive waves expanded outward. Anything caught in them would lose time itself.
Frozen in place, like statues.
“That’s why getting tangled up with the dragons of time is a death sentence, kid. Once you’re caught in those waves, it’s over.”
“That’s completely ridiculous.”
“Well, if you don’t get hit, it’s fine. And it can’t last long.”
Buretta and Andrei were fighting a time dragon for the first time. They instinctively dodged the waves, but overlooked one crucial fact.
If even a single toe, a strand of hair, or a tiny part of the body was caught, the entire body would freeze.
Andrei, being smaller, could slip through easily. But Buretta couldn’t.
Crack!
Quicantel pushed off the ground with her hind legs and lunged at the frozen Buretta.
“Buretta!”
Once close enough, Quicantel released the time power and bit down hard on Buretta’s neck. Buretta screamed too late as they both plummeted.
Thud!
Thick blood gushed from Buretta’s long neck, and Quicantel clamped down like a predator locking its jaws on prey.
Every struggle sent sprays of green scales, blood, and flesh flying.
For the first time, Andrei’s face twisted with anger, but he was helpless. If he used magic recklessly, Buretta would suffer too.
And whenever Andrei tried to approach, Quicantel unleashed her time waves again.
“Graaah!”
“Tastes awful, too. You say I was complacent? Say that again!”
Quicantel spat out a chunk of Buretta’s flesh, exposing white bone beneath the neck. As Buretta thrashed, Quicantel froze her again with the waves.
This brutal cycle repeated, painting a grim and heart-wrenching scene.
“Ugh, that gave me chills. I’ve been through that myself.”
“To Quicantel?”
“Yeah, we used to fight a lot when we were lovers.”
If he bit just a couple more times, Buretta’s neck would be completely severed. Already, Buretta was half-conscious, barely twitching even as time momentarily unfroze.
“Stop… stop it, Eunryong!”
[Just shut up and watch, wizard of Zipl. You’re next in line. But your tone’s gotten short—losing your mind now that death’s near?]
By then, Quicantel looked visibly exhausted.
If the power over time were an unlimited force, Siron wouldn’t be the strongest in the world.
‘Thanks to Buretta’s momentary lapse, I was able to seize the advantage easily. Kill this one, then with Jin and Murakan’s help, deal with the wizard…!’
But after unleashing so much power, Quicantel’s magic was nearly drained.
Huff, huff…
As he exhaled ragged breaths, just as Quicantel was about to snuff out Buretta’s last fragile breath—
Andrei, as if making a firm decision, began stepping toward the dragons.
“You’ve crossed the line.”
[Who’s going to say otherwise?]
“That right belongs only to the strong, Eunryong. You were born the Silver Dragon of Time, and all your life you believed yourself and the god you serve to be the strongest, rulers of the world…”
But that was an illusion.
In the end, everything will fall under Zipl’s banner. Humans, gods alike.
Andrei set down his staff and pulled something from within his cloak.
In his hand was a round stone, radiating an ominous black glow. The moment Murakan saw it, he instinctively gasped.
“The Origin Stone…!? That can’t be!”
At the same time, Murakan shifted into his true form. His massive figure cast a shadow over the ground, dwarfing the spiritual energy that had concealed both him and Jin.
[Get out of the way, Quicantel!]