Chapter 168 (1/2)
After waking up from his hibernation period, Blanc searched for the red dragons. Because the first person he could think of that their race could rely on in this world devastated by the war was none other than Ellid himself.
But…
“The red dragons have abandoned us.”
The words spoken by the returning Karne were more than enough to drive a cold dagger into Blanc’s heart and twist it ruthlessly.
“They are no longer our kin. No, they’re just traitors, that’s all.”
Karne’s rage against the red dragons exceeded everyone’s imagination.
His animosity towards the red dragons was stronger than any of his kin’s, and he even forced this view onto the newer generations of dragons.
He said that the red dragons were traitors that had abandoned their race.
Of course, some dragons didn’t believe him. They were the ones that remembered the red dragons and Ellid. Just like Blanc, they truly believed the red dragons had not forsaken them. But, over the centuries, it became hard to not doubt.
This was where their differing beliefs had led them.
“Explain yourself, Karne.” Blanc’s heavy, low voice growled like a wild beast’s.
None of his kin present failed to understand where his emotions and rage came from. Those who knew how long Blanc had waited for the red dragons’ return easily understood his feelings.
To make matters worse, Blanc had believed that Ellid and the other red dragons were still alive somewhere—that there was a reason why they had to run, that they could not have abandoned them without a solid reason.
That’s what he believed and told the others.
The red dragons had a reason to leave. That was true. There were waiting somewhere and maybe, just maybe, they would come back one day.
That was as wrong as Karne saying the red dragons were traitors.
They hadn’t run away.
Because they were all dead.
“I said, explain yourself. Now!!”
Blanc’s naked killing intent spread out everywhere. But it wasn’t just him alone—the same could be said of his kin that had believed Karne’s version until now.
The sense of betrayal.
Karne’s brows shot up as he received the brunt of the overwhelming emotions of hundreds of his kin.
“Hold on, everyone. You’re all too agitated right now.”
“Without a doubt, there must’ve been some kind of misunderstanding. You know that Sir Karne isn’t that type of person, don’t you?”
As was the case with everything, blind loyalty and faith always persisted. But that extended only up to a point. And it’d take only a single moment to betray such loyalty.
“Everyone, just calm down and let’s hear from….”
Kyah-aaaah-!
A loud dragon’s roar resounded over the crowd.
Seizing the opening created by the commotion, Karne instantly leaped up into the air. At the same time, his body ballooned and his previously human-like appearance transformed into that of a dragon sporting the ‘orange’ color that was far closer to gold in hue.
“S-sir?!”
“Sir, my a**! Catch him!!”
Blanc roared at the top of his voice.
Learning more about what happened in detail was nice and all that, but right now, apprehending the escaping Karne took priority.
Unfortunately, no one was capable of catching up to Karne once he was deadly serious about running away. He must’ve planned his escape from the get-go, because he even activated short-distance teleportation magic several times in a row to fly far away.
“That son of a…!!”
Blanc urgently transformed. The same thing happened to the other dragons, as well. Their human-like appearances couldn’t produce the kind of speed necessary to pursue Karne.
<< We must hunt him down. >>
As he transformed back into a massive blue dragon, Blanc continued to grit his teeth.
And so, many, many dragons began their heated pursuit of the escaping Karne.
…All the while completely forgetting about the existence of a lone human who had vanished from the spot earlier.
Act 7
Flap-
Swiiiiiish-
A massive figure quickly scythed through the air, his huge wings beating away.
The dragon with the near-golden hue, Karne, issued an enraged roar, his sharply curved fangs on full display.
-Dammit, dammit!
Karne’s roars continued for a while.
He thought his heart would explode from the indignation. One measly human he didn’t even pay much attention to ended up pouring ash all over his well-prepared feast.
“Man, I finally caught up with you.”
-…?
Karne was stunned silly by a soft voice coming from above his head, and hurriedly looked up. But, at that exact moment…
Craaaack-!
Stagger-
The powerful force emanating from his head caused Karne’s flying body to shake greatly.
-It can’t be…
“Where are you in such a hurry to get to, I wonder?”
Craaaack-!
Fists laden with magical energy slammed down on Karne’s head once more.
“Before you leave….” Su-hyeun, straddling the top of the fleeing dragon’s head, mercilessly pounded down on the dragon with his fists held high. “You should’ve apologized to Miru first.”
Swiiiiish-
Crack, boooom-!
That terrifying punch finally forced Karne’s body out of the sky.
Kyah-aaaaah-!
-Just when…!
“It was really hard catching up to you. When I saw you looking so shifty-eyed, I wondered if you really were planning to run, but, man, I was so right.”
-Dammit!
As he fell to the ground below, Karne angrily shook his head. At the same time, his entire body began glowing red-hot.
[Armor of Conflagration.]
A heat that would make even boiling lava feel lukewarm caused Su-hyeun to hurriedly leap away from the dragon’s body. If he insisted on staying there, then his butt resting on the dragon’s head might have gotten royally roasted.
CRASH-!
Right after that, Karne’s body crashed on the ground. Su-hyeun put some distance between himself and the stifling heat he felt from the fallen dragon’s figure, then landed safely back on solid ground.
“Whoo, whoo.”
He urgently blew at his hands after feeling the heat still lingering there. But, when he thought about it for a second, the heat wasn’t the real issue here.
<< That’s some amazing toughness. >>
The orange-colored dragon. Just one grade below the red dragons. But Karne was also the oldest of all orange-colored dragons, too.
After the war, most of the old dragons died out, and only those youngsters who were in their hibernation periods at the time survived to this day. Still, there was little doubt that Karne’s scales were incredibly tough.
Even if he used a sword and not his bare fists, penetrating Karne’s scales would still be a challenge.
Grrrr…..
Karne pushed his crash-landed body back up and glared at Su-hyeun. Now that they were face-to-face like this, the latter couldn’t help but see the former in a new light.
<< He’s definitely a world apart from that green dragon. >>
A size that easily rivaled the average skyscraper. The thick, heavy concentration of magical energy emanated from his skin and scales.
Orange color, and the oldest of the lot—that was Karne.
<< The defensive capability of his scales is incredible, and there’s no need to even mention the sheer variety of magic spells he must’ve mastered by now, too. >>
This was a fight against a real dragon, in other words.
Sha-shing-
Su-hyeun unsheathed his sword. And then…
“Come out.”
Riiiip-