Chapter 188 - Chapter 188 (1/2)

The Shadow Sovereign was the sole existence capable of dragging back a soul that had fallen to the pits of the abyss. That was why the Dragon needed only one glance to recognise Jin-Woo's identity.

The King of the Dead, in the body of a human, was staring right back at the creature with dignified eyes. The authority of a Sovereign that he possessed sent a powerful chill through the Dragon's body.

But, that only lasted for a brief moment.

The creature's eyes shifted to a location a bit further away. And that's when it discovered the stupid-looking humans and their jaws agape as they stared right back at the gigantic creature.

'Humans…. Humans?'

It immediately recalled the bottomless malice it held against humanity right up until its death. And that also helped the Dragon to remember the terrible pain it felt as it drew its very last breath.

'Humans... must be killed.'

Snap.

That's where its rationality got cut off. The Dragon raised its body up as crimson light filled its eyes.

[Every single one of you... I shall kill all of you.]

The air of the underground storage area began boiling right up.

"Oh, my god...."

The Director of the Hunter Bureau spat out a shocked gasp.

This dome had been designed to accommodate the Dragon's sleeping figure. So, the whole space seemed wholly inadequate the moment the creature raised his head high.

Crack!!

The Dragon's head pushed against the ceiling and destroyed the concrete there.

"W-what the hell?!"

"No, could it be....?"

They could now see the blood-red light gather within the open maw of the Dragon.

A mass of red light – both the director and his deputy had seen the video footage countless times and they knew what that red light cluster was supposed to do.

Adam White urgently grabbed the director's shoulder and shouted out.

"Sir! You need to evacuate...."

"That's Kamish's Breath! You think we'll be safe because we escaped somewhere?!"

It was rather clear that, once the red light exploded out, then forget about the underground storage area, the entire Hunter Bureau building would completely be obliterated in the blink of an eye. There was no place safe from the Dragon's attack, in other words.

Rumble-!!

One of the stationed staff members collapsed to the floor as if his legs lost all strength from the fright. The other two, meanwhile, were urgently punching the security code to open the electronic door-lock in order to escape from the dome.

The director and his deputy knew full well that was simply a waste of time. They could only alternate their gazes between Jin-Woo and the revived Kamish with dazed expressions etched on their faces.

Kuwaaaaah-!!

The red glow created out of pure magic energy finally transformed into a sphere of blinding flames. The Dragon was finally finished with its preparation to erase all 'humans' standing before it. Just before it could spit out its ultra-high temperature Breath, though...

[Die!]

….Jin-Woo roared out at the top of his lungs.

"That's enough!"

The director and his entourage all raised their arms reflexively to shield their eyes from the bright, blinding light. However, after hearing Jin-Woo's call, they all slowly lowered their arms.

They thought that everything was over once that light filled up the inside of the dome. As it turned out, they were far too hasty in making that judgement, however.

"But, but.... How can this even be possible?"

The flames within the jaw of the enraged Kamish were dying out gradually.

Did the Dragon that melted away the lives of several hundred elite Hunters with a single Breath, stop its attack because of just one command issued by Hunter Seong Jin-Woo?

Gulp.

The director stared at Jin-Woo with eyes that were clearly still swimming in unbridled shock. And then, those eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from an even more incredulous sight.

Jin-Woo actually began talking to Kamish, that was what.

"The Magic Crystal embedded in your head has been removed a long time ago. You have no more reason to follow the orders of the Rulers."

The deputy director standing right next to his boss shuddered from a nasty shock and hurriedly asked.

"Is, is Hunter Seong Jin-Woo actually speaking in the monster language right now?!"

"....Even though I'm looking at it, I can't figure out how to interpret this situation."

While everyone else was still stuck in their pit of pure astonishment, Jin-Woo was too busy spitting out a sigh of relief in his mind.

'Whew-woo....'

He was worried about what he needed to do for a brief moment there, but the end result turned out to be rather good. What a relief that was.

Even then, Jin-Woo was honestly almost scared out of his wits the moment he felt the unchecked rage gushing out from the Dragon.

'What kind of a Shadow Soldier possesses this powerful an ego?!'

It seemed that the thing about higher existences possessing stronger egos, as proclaimed by the King of Giants, could be true after all. Meanwhile, the Dragon was quite surprised by the fact that it willingly obeyed the new Sovereign's order.

[So, this is how it feels to submit to the Shadow Sovereign....]

The Dragon then lowered its tall posture and paid its respect to Jin-Woo. The humans flinching constantly from each and every movement of the oversized creature finally spat out lengthy sighs of relief.

The Dragon lowered its head, as if to kiss the floor, and spoke.

[This lowly servant who once used to serve the Dragon Emperor pays respects to the new Sovereign.]

There was a great deal of respect in the creature's voice that still growled like that of most monsters. Jin-Woo slowly approached the Dragon and placed his hand on the nose of the creature. It silently closed its eyes and enjoyed the warmth of its new lord.

The sensation that couldn't be described in mere words travelled from its nose tip to the rest of its body.

Jin-Woo also sensed that the Dragon's mood was lifting up. He had barely managed to calm his pounding heart by then, but now, it was racing hard again.

BA-THUMP, BA-THUMP!!

'Kamish.... The Dragon Kamish has really become my Shadow Soldier....'

A broad smile automatically floated up on his face.

Adam White's jaw, meanwhile, had been hanging slack from this unbelievable scene right before his eyes. But then, he discovered something even more incredulous and hurriedly confirmed it with the deputy director.

"S-sir. Is the Dragon really wagging its tail??"

'What the heck, the worst calamity in history isn't some puppy, so what kind of rubbish is he even talking about?'

The deputy director thought such a thing would be completely illogical and shifted his eyes to where Kamish's tail was, only for a pained groan to escape from his mouth.

"Jesus H. Christ...."

Jin-Woo lifted his hand away and the Dragon's tail stopped wagging, as well. It then raised his head up again.

The name 'Kamish' was given to the Dragon for the convenience of humans. Jin-Woo was pondering what new name he should give to his latest addition to the ranks of his Shadow Soldiers, before abruptly recalling the words it used to greet him just now.

"You said you used to serve the Dragon Emperor, right?"

[That is indeed correct, oh, my king.]

The Dragon continued using a polite tone of voice.

[I served the King of Berserk Dragons, the Sovereign of Destruction.]

'I'm the King of the Dead, the Shadow Sovereign....'

And then, there was the King of the Giants, the Sovereign of the Beginning.

Jin-Woo realised that the former owner the Dragon served had to be one of the nine Sovereigns the System mentioned before.

However, that wasn't important right now. No, what he wanted to know was the creature's real name, so he could use that one, too.

"Alright, then. What was your original na...."

Jin-Woo couldn't continue his words, though. His eyes looking up at the creature began quaking rather violently. Like a sand castle being scattered away by a gust of wind, the Dragon's body was slowly disintegrating right before him.

[Regrettably, my king... I must bid you farewell.]

"What?!"

Jin-Woo's Perception Stat communicated with the Dragon's current emotion. And it was one of pure sorrow, not even a hint of falsehood contained within.

The Dragon was truly lamenting this moment.

[It seems that our meeting came about far too late, my Sovereign.]

Even if it was the power of a Shadow Sovereign, the gap of eight years proved to be far too wide to bridge. The Dragon had been trapped for too long within the bottom of the abyss and as a result, its magical energy had become too weak and began scattering away in the air.

"System?! Systeeeem!"

Jin-Woo couldn't accept this and desperately cried out to the System, but the d*mn thing remained utterly silent, as always.

Just like how he could sense the Dragon's emotions, the creature could sense his, as well.

[I am truly envious of Your Majesty's soldiers, as they are now tasked with serving you for all eternity.]