Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

---

Chapter 440: The Accident Expands Infinitely

An unknown omnipotence clung to my body.

My wounds gushed blood, and my brain screamed that I was dying.

It felt as if I had lava poured into my body. I even wondered if my race was truly that of a lava golem.

On my left, Kim Yoo-min charged in, while Choi Yeon-woo approached from the right. Blood was flowing freely from Kim Yoo-min’s tightly clenched fist.

Her mangled knuckles, mixed with my own blood, reminded me of the first time we met.

Thanks to her, who had once cried and hit me, my muddled brain found its way back and I could think like this again.

No matter how much mana and power I drew out, the durability of my fist remained the same as it was back then.

What had changed was the might. Each strike had grown strong enough to shatter my defenses and inflict pain.

While I wasn’t the type to feel good about such things, I decided to praise that growth.

These brats were my death. The long-sought death I had been searching for.

After losing her, I had been living in a state where I couldn’t die, and now I faced the final chapter of my life.

That made sense, as I truly felt entirely powerless. If there was only one opponent, I might have considered mutual destruction, but since they both came at me, I had to brace myself.

Well, letting them kill me might not be too bad, but still, I felt a bit sorry for the Demon King.

Hwayo had accepted me as a Great Warrior without hesitation, as I transitioned from melancholy to oblivion and then to violence. I felt a light sense of gratitude towards Hwayo.

‘I probably can’t kill them.’

Well, I could excuse myself by saying I tried. Regardless, just taking hits without fighting back wasn’t Christopher’s style.

With a determined heart, Christopher faced forward. The sword swinging in from the right and the sharp straight punch coming from the left. A decision formed in an instant.

He extended his left hand towards the blade. If we only looked at the power of the blow, it was undoubtedly Choi Yeon-woo who was stronger. Kim Yoo-min’s rapid-fire attacks were well-known for their storm-like nature.

Of course, that was true for me; against other enemies, I probably would’ve died after a couple of hits.

Choi Yeon-woo’s sword, called Cheondun, plunged into my left arm without resistance. As it sliced through half of my arm, Christopher flexed his muscles, twisting the limb.

The trajectory of the Cheondun was thrown off. As Christopher’s left arm soared skyward, the blade’s path twisted, and Kim Yoo-min narrowly dodged it like a limbo dancer.

Even in that moment, her well-timed punch struck true. A hole was made in my side, blood pouring out. My organs were undoubtedly damaged.

But, I didn’t care; I had no intention of living. Amid the gaping wound, Christopher slid his legs and grasped his right fist tightly.

“You little…!!”

“What are you so surprised about? Isn’t that your specialty?”

They say bones give way and flesh strikes. It was utterly ridiculous to see someone so proficient yield in shock.

With every ounce of strength Christopher could muster, his punch shot forward.

*

A flash crossed the battlefield. Who would think such power could come from a single punch?

A full-force uppercut. It was merely a method of swinging the fist that someone had taught him long ago.

This was the only bit of guidance he had received regarding martial arts since his birth.

Nevertheless, the man’s punch reached the heavens. If not for the intent to harm, one might wonder what could’ve happened if he had learned from a proper master.

That was why Yeon-woo faced him head-on.

What could only be described as overwhelming mass crashed down. It wasn’t about breaking, it was about suppressing and crushing.

Thinking of countless people behind him, dodging that blow was simply not an option.

At first, he barely deflected it. The second time, he managed to break through in a dreamlike state. Thus, the third time was certainly set in stone.

He would break through and deflect. Sever Christopher’s attack head-on and end his life. Such was the singular intent driving him as he grasped his sword.

The Crescent Cross technique essentially required using the Moonlight Twice.

To truly call it the Crescent Cross, one must layer two precise strikes in an annoyingly cumbersome process. However, adding power to it was incredibly simple.

The very concept of the Crescent Cross had a remarkably brief progression from conception to completion. He had simply added a vertical stroke to the Moonlight technique. Thus, the next step was obvious.

‘Just one more swing will do.’

With each additional swing, the power increases—a simple technique. That was Moonlight, Crescent Cross.

Having been strengthened beyond the last incident and with a changed weapon, he believed he had sufficient power. Yet, if the opponent also grew stronger, he had to be cautious.

The mana that surged within Yeon-woo flowed through his arm and into the sword. He didn’t even need to use the shadow arm that was essential for manifesting Crescent Cross.

He envisioned a virtual circle before him. Like slicing a pizza, he drew lines across it.

Once he reached that point, what Yeon-woo needed to do was simple. He would just carve his sword path.

“Huuh—.”

The sword strike was etched into the void. The pressure that touched the line Yeon-woo drew was ripped apart along that shape.

Each time, Yeon-woo stepped forward, adding another stroke. With every stroke, an impact that felt like his arm might be torn off surged through his grip, but Yeon-woo bit down and endured.

With each swing of the sword and step forward, immense strain was placed on his body.

The pressure from Christopher shattered into pieces, dispersing into the void. A strike powerful enough to kill dozens of people disintegrated into the ground surrounding Yeon-woo.

While the results were satisfying, it was merely enough to block one attack. Yeon-woo didn’t stop his sword and followed with a punch from Christopher that he had collected.

Not just once or twice. He began to repeatedly extend his fist in a slow, controlled motion, dozens of times.

With each swing of his fist, Christopher’s complexion grew increasingly grim.

Yeon-woo recognized that the once sturdy muscles that filled his frame were losing moisture and flesh.

In martial arts terms, Christopher was coaxing his innate potential into action. He was leveraging the life force that is the essence of humanity, scattering it as mana.

Naturally, since it was an energy closest to nature, its output surpassed any ordinary mana by far.

Bang! Bang! Ba-bang-bang-bang—!!!

The sound of a machine gun firing off punches echoed. With each sound, Yeon-woo’s sword swings quickened.

Physical force clashed against physical force, resulting in sparkling flashes of light. Neither was willing to back down.

The atmosphere of the battlefield quieted, as those who were fighting found themselves staring blankly at the sight.

In the last, final moment, standing was Yeon-woo. With a thud, Christopher’s sun-bleached blonde hair rolled into the dust-filled ground.

“…You did well, Choi Yeon-woo.”

Yeon-woo hadn’t pushed himself to his limits. To break through Christopher’s barrage, he had drawn eight strokes with his sword. Blood trickled from his tightly clenched hand.

Tears of blood flowed from his eyes that were pressed to their limits. Kim Yoo-min caught him as he faltered.

“…I feel a bit bittersweet.”

The being he had spent the longest time with met their end. In that brief moment, they looked like a dried-up mummy.

“You’re smiling like you’ve gotten your fill.”

Yeon-woo kicked him lightly. While he wasn’t someone he particularly liked, he sometimes wondered if he was a better person than before his regression.

At the very least, since he emerged from melancholy, there had been no slaughtering spree presumed to be caused by him.

*

While Yeon-woo took a moment to rest, the situation deteriorated rapidly.

The Great Warrior of Violence had fallen, and the Great Warrior of Melancholy, Kai, had hid away after dragging things out. Although it had been a favorable situation for humanity, the circumstances worsened.

The reason was simple. The two Demon Kings who had until then remained in the background began to take action.

The sky began to turn black. This wasn’t a normal phenomenon. No dark night could cover the world so swiftly.

Above all, this darkness began from behind Moryo. The hunters aware of this fact were consumed by extreme tension.

However, a single ray of sunlight pierced through that darkness.

Compared to the feeble sunlight seen when fighting Nephren-Ka, it was laughably weak, yet it was undeniably significant.

The manifestation of the sun god. The Sunflower Church’s saint, Na Yang-ho, had summoned Solaris here.

With six burning wings flapping, leading the sunlight, she headed to the front lines without hesitation.

Manifesting the sun god and entering the fray to crush the enemies blocking the way—that was the saint’s style.

Even if she got injured, she would heal; even if cursed, she would cleanse. In truth, as long as she didn’t die in a single blow, everything would somehow be fine.

Furthermore, possessing the overwhelming divinity as a top-tier divine art user meant she had physical capabilities that were beyond any ordinary hunter.

In fact, it could be said that it was generally more efficient for her to participate rather than just offer healing from the back.

Of course, even with her, it was impossible to confront a Demon King head-on. Thus, others stepped in.

“Go!! Behi, Jiz!!”

Beside Yeon-woo, Leviathan threw a ball onto the ground. With a deep sigh, Behemoth stepped forward.

Unlike her usual maid outfit that seemed casually put together, she wore a form-fitting combat suit that revealed her physique.

She was a stunning figure, enough to turn the heads of surrounding hunters who stole glances. A married man shouldn’t carelessly look at such things.

Jiz laughed like an owl and rode the wind as she soared. In an instant, she flipped mid-air, revealing her true form.

A giant griffon adorned with countless wings. Yeon-woo had never seen Jiz’s true appearance before.

With that imposing figure, the allied hunters gasped in awe. It was terrifying if thought of as an enemy, but reassuring if thought of as an ally.

Behemoth moved toward Moryo, while Jiz directed herself toward Hwayo. While I didn’t think those two would be strong enough to take on a Demon King, at least they could buy some time.

“…Aren’t you going?”

[Don’t worry. I can help sufficiently by staying here.]

The concern in Leviathan’s eyes for the two was evident.

Given their dynamic, it was akin to a family hierarchy, and Yeon-woo understood that worry.

(To be continued in the next episode)