Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 441: Joining Forces Until Friday

As Friday joined the fray, the situation seemed temporarily stable.

Behemoth charged fiercely at Moryo. Jiz kept his distance, scattering enormous feathers toward Hwayo.

Hwayo nonchalantly absorbed them with his body. Splat! Hot blood splashed everywhere, but Hwayo remained unfazed, pulling out the feathers and hurling them directly at Jiz.

Swoosh!!

Jiz barely dodged the feathers that swooshed past him with a terrifying sound. After all, dying impaled by one of his own feathers was something he definitely wanted to avoid. What a pathetic way to go!

Friday’s boastful, Demon Lord-level minions were precariously holding back the two Demon Lords.

But it was all just a precarious restraint. They were risking their lives to buy even a little bit of time.

“Shouldn’t we help?”

[Seems like we should. Hmph, as expected, they can’t do anything without me.]

Despite saying that, Friday’s expression showed some hidden joy. Honestly, it was a sentiment hard for Yeon-woo to understand.

While the kids were fighting for their lives, how could he take pleasure in being able to help?

That difference in perception was probably something hard to bridge. Well, he considered himself a man who could accept such cultural differences.

He waved farewell to Leviathan, who started walking toward the battlefield. He had no intention of telling him to stay safe or anything like that. After all, he wasn’t here to pray for anyone’s death.

“Did you successfully deliver the requested item?”

“Of course!”

The figure that appeared in response to Yeon-woo’s mumbling was Shar. Coughing lightly, she stood proudly next to Tae-oh.

“I did it stealthily without anyone noticing. I performed as Dad requested!”

“Good, good. Now it’s all up to Kai.”

Yeon-woo let out a sigh of relief. This was regarding the Fragment of Light he had received from Kai.

Cha Jinsu had successfully contacted the Spirit Master he knew and awakened the light power contained within it.

Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to do anything. It wasn’t Yeon-woo who knew what kind of object the crystal was or where it originated from.

That was why Yeon-woo decided to leave it to Kai. The rendezvous itself wasn’t that difficult. Tae-oh managed to bring him here one way or another.

Kai, receiving the infused light Fragment, nodded as if he somewhat understood and began to prepare a series of theatrics.

Receiving the Fragment right there could potentially lead to being detected when he returned to Moryo’s space.

He had to receive it on the battlefield and sneak back. At that time, Moryo would also be in the battlefield, so the watchful eyes would surely be lessened.

And this fight was the moment to enact that play. Yeon-woo never expected Christopher to come along, but ultimately, it wasn’t a bad thing.

“Just like this! Pushed it in!”

The method of sneaking it in was something Yeon-woo had conjured from the image of drug smuggling.

Tae-oh’s body aligns pretty much with Kai’s body. It seemed to be because they were fundamentally similar substances.

In the end, as a Shadow Warrior, there wouldn’t be much of a difference in physical aspects from dark spirits.

Thus, Tae-oh, clutching the Fragment of Light, had his fist buried inside Kai’s body, effectively hiding it.

No matter how meticulous Moryo was, unless he thoroughly checked, he could not verify what was inside his body—so it was a pretty good method.

Additionally, it allowed Yeon-woo to relieve some stress regarding Kai.

Ultimately, how this fight unraveled was, no exaggeration, left in the hands of Kai rather than Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo decided to preserve his strength until then and kept an eye on the situation. Countless Hunters were present at this location.

There was Ja-won, who had become a disciple of the Volcano sect after being caught up in the Demon incident in Cheonju, and friends from the Academy. There were also total warriors from Freedom Academy and a vampire group led by Delain.

He noticed the appearance of the martial arts faction leader who had lost an arm. Despite their major injuries, the martial arts faction had decided to support without hesitation. Truly, they were admirable people.

Alkeon was no different. Despite being short on personnel, they had somehow scraped together support. They were focusing more on quality over quantity.

Even now, several masters from Alkeon were wreaking havoc throughout the battlefield. Among them was Claire.

It struck Yeon-woo anew how many people he had come to know. Like a cliche from a manga or novel, people he had met until now were coming to aid in the final battle.

Regardless of any entanglements, Yeon-woo felt he would never forget this jittery feeling.

Since he had never been mainstream at any point before his regression, it felt significant to be recognized as an important person.

‘That guy’s also here.’

If asked who among them was the most intriguing, Yeon-woo could answer without hesitation.

The former Noblesse guild leader, Edward, and a boy presumed to be his disciple named Achilles… as noted on the registry.

That was what he remembered being written there.

He thought that the irritable old man might have stepped out once more in an attempt to rise again, but from the way he looked at the boy presumed to be his disciple, it didn’t seem that way.

‘Did he raise his disciple only to become a master in his old age…’

Yeon-woo smirked at Edward’s gaze, akin to looking at a fragile vase.

Well, it was fine if Edward was just a piece of trash that looked like a human before the regression, but if he was merely entrapped in a level of elitism, that was at least somewhat endearing.

With a sentimental gaze, Yeon-woo watched the battlefield. How many lives could he save among them? He hoped he could save many.

For Yeon-woo, that was just about the only thought he could cling to.

*

Deep within Moryo’s palace, something was trapped in a cage. Only a few among Moryo’s subordinates were aware of that fact.

Kai was one of the rare few who knew what it was.

Having been around for a long time and due to the nature of the position he held just before almost being consumed by Moryo, he lived the longest among them.

That day as well, he was serving as a knight. Despite the prince, who was supposed to take the throne under the blessings of the sun and the Empire’s every subject, suddenly stiffening, even glancing at the world before being engulfed in darkness.

On that day, they lost someone before their eyes. Kai was no exception.

As he was guarding the Second Prince, Zahak’s younger brother, Kai lost the Prince to a colossal shadow that reached out from the darkness.

Although he realized something was happening, there was nothing Kai could do.

The one who possessed the strongest power in that world, Zahak, had transformed into a being of an entirely different dimension at that point.

Nevertheless, Kai clenched his fist and charged at Zahak. As a result, it led to his own demise.

What exactly happened during the enthronement ceremony that allowed Zahak to gain that level of power, he couldn’t decipher due to being on guard against his surroundings.

However, after gathering information from other subordinates over a long time, he managed to piece together the rough story.

During the enthronement ceremony where the Sun God promised prosperity and blessings to the royal family, Zahak had reversed the power of the Sun God’s sacred object, sealing the God and gathering all the lost power.

However, the Sun God did not die. Even after losing all power, her divine position remained intact.

Was it due to Zahak’s fickleness, or thanks to the prayers of the last remaining believers, she was not allowed to completely vanish?

Thus, Kai slowly opened the cage door. The small light, cowering in the corner of the cage in fear of anything approaching, cautiously approached the door as it suddenly opened.

“…Goddess.”

As Kai carefully spoke, the Sun Goddess trembled her body as if denying it.

The small light fluttered softly in the darkness. It was impossible for Kai not to feel a pang of sorrow at that sight.

Everyone except Zahak was a victim, but the greatest victim could arguably be the Sun Goddess. Her only fault was loving her children too much.

However, loving her children could hardly be a crime.

She certainly hadn’t trapped them; it was merely that the child who received her love turned out to be the scum of the scum that had never existed before.

“It’s okay, Goddess. It’s me, Kai.”

[…Kai?]

The Goddess hesitantly murmured his name. It was very different from before. It was a weak voice, nothing compared to the time she used to call his name with a powerful voice and bless him.

[Where is he? Is he gone? It’s been so long, Kai.]

It was unbelievable that she had once been the ruler of a world. If it weren’t disrespectful to her, he could liken her to a puppy waiting for its owner after a long time. Yet, he couldn’t find a better expression.

“Goddess, I believe it’s time to return the blessings I received from you.”

[…Huh? What do you mean?]

The light flickered side to side in puzzlement. Without further explanation, Kai sharpened his right hand and brought it to his own chest.

[W-What are you doing, Kai!?]

Kai pierced the sharp edge into his own chest and split his torso open.

Splurt… Only pain remained. The greatest perk about becoming a Shadow Warrior was that even when in pain, it wouldn’t hinder him.

The white fragment lodged in his heart began to emerge from within Kai’s body, radiating a brilliant glow.

The Sun Goddess flinched at that shining light. It was a familiar aura. Despite being a different nature, it was an aura capable of harmonizing well.

Black liquid began to drip from beneath his black skin. Could this be called blood? To her, it was merely something horrifying, something that could only be interpreted as a curse.

He wished for her to accept this curse. He hoped she wouldn’t feel any rejection in returning the blessings she had bestowed upon him.

Cautiously, the white fragment Kai handed over was delicately accepted by the Goddess. After hesitating, she brought it closer to her body.

[Curse? What are you saying, Kai? You are still my beloved child.]

The Goddess smiled sweetly. She wore a warm, sunshine-like smile just like the old days.

Seeing her appear to have endured all those years in a cage was unbelievable, and Kai found himself bowing his head unconsciously.

Perhaps he might have been doing something unspeakable to the Goddess. Asking her, who had just escaped from a cage after decades, to fight against her long-beloved child Zahak was no less than that.

Yet, she smiled. She laughed like the brightest sunshine emerging from the darkest of places.

[How wonderful it is to be able to fulfill my child’s request right after standing again after so long!]

(To be continued in the next episode)