Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 435: The Hidden Demon King

The unseen Demon King had been located. No matter how excellent the Demon King’s affinity for water, it couldn’t hide its presence while struggling against it.

And the one evident truth deduced from Shuyo’s movements was clear.

The Demon King was trying to leave this puddle behind.

Yeon-woo’s judgment didn’t seem wrong either.

The enormous size of this water puddle had become nothing more than an increased target area for Shuyo due to Baek In-hwa surpassing the Master’s wall.

Therefore, abandoning its bulky body was a rational decision.

Even if it meant allowing Yeon-woo, who had been unable to resist until now, to counterattack.

To Yeon-woo, it wasn’t so bad. The difference between being able to attempt an attack and not daring to try at all.

The latter was the source of heightened stress when fighting.

Watching Shuyo rapidly begin to flee, Yeon-woo hurriedly moved as well.

Stopping Baek In-hwa could simply be communicated to Tae-oh, but if they stopped too early, Shuyo was likely to return.

It was a task Yeon-woo faced: waiting until Shuyo was completely out of the puddle, then escaping before turning to ice.

Truly, it was a bizarre situation. Coming to fight the Demon King, and yet feeling threatened by an ally’s assistance.

‘Still, it’s a necessary thing…!’

Drawing in a deep breath, Yeon-woo pushed off the rocks in the muddy water with all their might.

Cleaving through substantial obstacles and accepting minor stones against their body, Yeon-woo chased after Shuyo.

“Why are you running away? Are you scared?”

Even with Yeon-woo’s light provocation, Shuyo ignored and swam upstream. Though Yeon-woo said that, it was Yeon-woo who was truly the most frightened.

The ice following closely behind was nothing short of terrifying.

Shuyo moved quickly. Squeezing through the cracks of sand and rocks obstructing the puddle.

Movement directed toward the lake. Naturally, Shuyo still hadn’t given up on the Earth Serpent.

Perhaps it was thinking about whether it could swallow the Earth Serpent with a power even Yeon-woo couldn’t consume.

Nonetheless, from Yeon-woo’s experience of having wandered about the water puddle, Shuyo’s body felt somewhat peculiar.

Shuyo was not so different from a Demon. If it were a Demon King, Yeon-woo had expected it to possess diverse powers unlike a Demon, yet that was surprisingly not the case.

Of course, one had to consider that it was diluted in that enormous puddle.

Well, it was a bit amusing that the Demon King was weakened due to dilution, but such a thing could indeed happen.

Anyway, Yeon-woo was keenly observing Shuyo’s certain departure. If Baek In-hwa were to suddenly return, shocked that her ice sphere had been stopped, it would be Yeon-woo in trouble.

They might seem to cause no harm to each other, but just moments ago, it was Yeon-woo who was being unilaterally beaten.

‘Get out of here fast!!’

To be honest, the easiest way to win comfortably was to just remain in this puddle.

If Yeon-woo could keep Shuyo here at the risk of being frozen by Baek In-hwa, they could simply win this battle.

But fighting with timing against an ally was too much pressure…

*

Shuyo, having hurriedly squeezed through the cracks of rock, looked back while reconstructing its body.

There was neither fur nor bones in its body, but even so, one would understand the meaning of feeling hair stand on end.

It was urgent. Other Demon Kings had already caught wind that Shuyo had moved and were rushing to eliminate the weakest competitor.

If Shuyo didn’t hurry, it was bound to meet death at the hands of the Demon Kings, not by the hero.

‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…!!’

For what have I lived? For what did I seek to destroy the world and find the next world?

How had I crawled this far as nothing more than a mere low-level monster…!!

Unconsciously, Shuyo was running. It looked back. Checking left and right, peering up at the cliff.

No room for relaxation. Only the instinct of not wanting to die fueled its movements.

“What’s up with that?”

Yeon-woo, who had come out from the puddle after stopping Baek In-hwa’s ice sphere, wrung out water from their clothes and spoke.

Of course, it was obvious that Shuyo would hurry toward the lake, but it seemed there would be no reason for such a frantic movement.

“I don’t know. Just follow. I’ll join up in a bit.”

“Ugh, got it. Wrap it up quickly and come back.”

Channeling mana through its body to raise its body temperature. It was impossible for an ordinary human, but for Yeon-woo, a half-dragon, it was no big deal.

Puff! Steam burst from Yeon-woo’s body, quickly drying the clothes.

Watching Yeon-woo’s retreating form leap high with the mana of the Cool Ice Sphere, Baek In-hwa took a deep breath.

It was too complicated to control its strength to join the battle right now. It would not matter if it was just the Demon King, but with Yeon-woo beside them, one wrong move could create big trouble.

Baek In-hwa needed to quickly gather the mana circulating inside its body and rejoin.

Luckily, unlike typical mana, the body optimized for the Cool Ice Sphere was smoothly circulating, so it wouldn’t take long.

“Phew….”

Leaving behind Baek In-hwa, who was calmly settling her consciousness inward, Yeon-woo fell in front of Shuyo to block its path.

“Where do you think you’re rushing off to?”

[Get out of the way…!! I don’t have time for this!!]

Startled by Shuyo’s urgent voice, Yeon-woo quickly pieced together the situation.

The reason Shuyo, who had shown no fear until now, was suddenly reacting this way.

‘There’s only one reason.’

The other Demon Kings were coming. Despite moving a fraction quicker, those other Demon Kings were undoubtedly closing in too fast, causing Shuyo to panic.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t a pleasant scenario for Yeon-woo either.

Cutting down one of them meant less damage, but facing three simultaneously would undoubtedly drop the winning odds to the core.

They had to quickly finish up with Shuyo. Thinking so, Yeon-woo grasped the sword.

Upon seeing this, Shuyo bit its lips. The liquid-like lips squished and twisted its expression.

[Didn’t I tell you to get out of the way!!]

With a hysterical scream, Shuyo’s blue body exploded. The liquid form of Shuyo, spreading outwards, began to ensnare Yeon-woo.

In an onslaught at incredible speed, Shuyo’s attack urged Yeon-woo to channel their mana. From behind, a wall of earth surged upward.

Before countering the assault coming from all sides, it was to delay the attack from behind.

But that decision was fruitless. The earthen wall Yeon-woo constructed began to melt away in an instant. It seemed to have been weakened by that very dilution.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t an issue. They had anticipated such a scenario and prepared alternatives.

As the earthen wall melted, a wall of ice formed from the mana emerged from within.

Unlike the pure nature-based earth wall, an ice wall formed by utilizing mana could withstand to some extent.

…Or so it was thought, but unfortunately, the ice wall melted even faster than the earthen wall.

It wasn’t that Yeon-woo’s thoughts were wrong, but rather the issue lay with Shuyo’s unique ability.

‘The mana is melting away.’

No matter what kind of mana it was, upon contact with Shuyo’s body, it began to dissolve rapidly.

‘This is somewhat problematic, huh?’

Hastily retracting the long Aura Blade, rather than pulling it out big and long, they meticulously colored it onto the sword. Simultaneously, they wrapped a protective spell around their body.

A slime that could dissolve mana or concepts? It wouldn’t be strange for such a being to hold the title of Demon King. Is that the sort of thing needed to engulf an entire world?

Swinging the sword. The sword movement quickly formed a barrier, naturally and swiftly surrounding Yeon-woo’s body.

Sword Barrier. Not only mana but the technique of the sword creating a defense that shattered the approaching blue liquid.

Acidic liquid splattered onto Yeon-woo’s body, accompanied by a sizzling sound that caused pain.

“Gah…!!”

An involuntary groan escaped between Yeon-woo’s lips. The acidic liquid pierced through the skin, creating dark holes.

It didn’t feel pleasant to have one’s skin and flesh melting away. Even with a protective spell wrapped around them, it raised concerns about what would have happened had they been unprotected…

[Die, die!! I command you to die!!]

Shuyo’s hysterical voice echoed within the acidic dome.

Oh, how annoying.

Honestly, dragging this out wasn’t so bad. It would buy time for Baek In-hwa to arrive.

Though this cramped and sticky space was not a comforting one to stall in, well, what could one do? If it meant guarding the Earth Serpent with this one body, then it was worth it.

Fortunately, while Shuyo could dissolve mana, it seemed it couldn’t hinder healing.

A bit stinging, but the mark of the Earth Serpent slowly brought healing to the blackened holes in Yeon-woo’s body.

In an instant, the liquid pressed down, almost crushing them with overwhelming mass.

The Aura Blade enveloping the sword was dissolving furiously, simultaneously undergoing reconstruction.

“Oh, it’s heavy…!!”

Yeon-woo exclaimed without hesitation, something no ordinary girl could say. It had seemed like they had gained humanity after swallowing countless humans, hence the comment, yet Shuyo didn’t respond.

It seemed Shuyo was too focused on quickly swallowing Yeon-woo and obtaining the Earth Serpent.

Realizing they couldn’t continue in this state, Yeon-woo released one hand from the Doppleganger and drew out the Thunderbolt.

Ultimately, if they didn’t escape once, they felt they would be crushed to death right here.

Maintaining the barrier with their right hand, Yeon-woo aimed the Thunderbolt upward with their left. Holes pierced through the ceiling as Yeon-woo elevated into the air.

Flipping their body to glance down at the ground. Shuyo’s body, transformed into a crown shape, surged upward after Yeon-woo in pursuit.

So annoyingly persistent!!

Swinging the sword towards the ground, Yeon-woo glanced at Baek In-hwa. The mana rising skyward in a smoke-like formation suggested it hadn’t yet settled down completely.

Yeah, well, how long had it been?

‘Just hold on for now!!’

(Continued in the next part)