Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 452: It Was a Crack

It was a crack. An exceptionally obvious crack. A type of gate that should not exist in the human form.

The cause was incredibly easy to identify. A twist. A twist in the body of a living being that ought not to exist was taking a step forward and forming a bizarre crack.

[Hehe, what on earth is a dragon? To be able to live with something like this inscribed on its body, is this truly the burden of life!]

Moryo chuckled as if he found it amusing. Yeon-woo adjusted his stance while watching this scene.

Soon enough. Unfortunately, the shadow engulfing this world could not be dealt with by Yeon-woo’s power.

This shadow was structured to inevitably affect the entire battlefield.

To Yeon-woo and his friends, those who reached master level, responding with nanomachines that deconstruct everything was somewhat annoying but not difficult. However, could ordinary hunters do the same? Absolutely not.

Even at this very moment, countless people must be dying. Yet, there was nothing Yeon-woo could do about it.

He could only wait and wait, hoping for a chance to cut off Moryo’s breath.

At least the Earth was much larger than the world Moryo originally came from, so it couldn’t swallow everything in one bite; if that wasn’t the case, perhaps the fight would have ended before it even started.

What a ridiculous story. It’s not like a final boss in a game using instant death patterns; it’s absurd to think that a being can plunge the entire world into a pit of death.

“Damn it!!”

I bit down on the complaints and anger that surged to my throat and replaced it with a curse that wasn’t even a curse.

Instead, I unleashed an Aura Blade filled to the brim with mana that lodged itself into Moryo’s body.

[Is that all you got to kill me!!]

Yeon-woo didn’t genuinely believe he would kill him with that swing. He just wanted to widen the crack a little, if possible.

The reason was simple. No matter how I looked at it, that gate was the only place Tae-oh could escape.

Ilucia was amplifying the light from within Moryo. Tae-oh was doing something in there… not quite sure what, but something was happening.

As for Lime, she could do her own thing. That would be the most helpful.

All the puzzle pieces were gathered. Now, all it took was for Tae-oh to come out. At this point, Yeon-woo could surely cut down Moryo.

Although it didn’t seem that Moryo noticed Yeon-woo’s anticipation, light began to burst from the cracks in Moryo’s body, the gate.

[Ugh, Aaaah!!]

No matter how much Moryo was, it seemed painful for a person to extract themselves from the cracks in their body, suddenly screaming as if the world was ending.

The sight of Tae-oh emerging was, to put it frankly, not pleasant. The location of the gate was right next to the side.

In that interval, two brown hands popped out, gripping the cracks and starting to pull himself out.

Like a bug shedding its skin, a person was emerging from the side, looking like something you’d see in a horror movie.

Once Tae-oh had completely pulled himself out, he rolled on the ground, drenched in a body fluid I couldn’t identify. The black liquid covering Tae-oh’s body looked superficially different but was identical to the shadow ruled by Moryo.

“Tae-oh, are you okay!?”

[Ugh, Dad, I’m fine!]

“Tae-oh’s speech has returned to normal…!!”

With a hefty retch, Tae-oh spat out the fluid that had entered his mouth and smiled brightly.

Yeon-woo stood frozen in shock. In the meantime, Moryo, who had been lying on the ground, slowly rose.

[Hehe, hehehe… This is funny. Very funny. You, you can’t possibly be my child!!]

At those words, Yeon-woo suddenly felt something strange. Moryo’s voice was resonating differently. It was spoken aloud but felt like it was echoing inside his head.

Of course, his telepathy with Tae-oh was always connected, but just now, it was clearly direct speech.

[Dad! I’ve become the Demon King!]

Seeing Tae-oh, who was smiling brightly as he confessed this, Yeon-woo doubted his ears. What was he saying? Could that really be possible?

Such thoughts crossed his mind, but there was no time to casually listen to the story.

The sky and the earth began to quake. A massive wave of shadow, seemingly reaching the heavens, began to rush toward Yeon-woo.

No way could that scale be covered by mere lightning. The moment Yeon-woo gripped his sword, Tae-oh lightly clenched his fist.

Boom!!

The two shadows collided with each other. Surprisingly, the total power was equal.

Waves melted down, eroded away. The cycle of nanomachines devouring nanomachines repeated endlessly.

[Ah, it looks like it’s real, Dad!!]

“This is absurd… to have birthed a Demon King in our family….”

[But I, Tae-oh, will never be a bad Demon King! Don’t worry, Dad!!]

As Yeon-woo looked at Tae-oh, who beamed at him, he was engulfed in a complex mix of emotions that were hard to express.

Well, it’s good that he won’t be a bad Demon King, and he knows he’s still Tae-oh before being a Demon King, but it’s slightly disorienting to be called Dad by a Demon King.

“…Should we deal with Moryo first and talk later?”

[Okay, I’ll show you the newly powered-up Tae-oh’s strength!]

Hmm… It seemed more bizarre to be called Dad by a Demon King than anything else, considering Tae-oh’s appearance and normal speech.

*

“Cough, cough, geez….”

[Stop talking!!]

A completely blood-soaked, battered old man was being carried on a wave of gold. Beside him was a clone of Leviathan made from gold.

Compared to the somewhat loosening front lines on Moryo’s side, Hwayo’s side could only be described as hell.

Leviathan and Behemoth remained on the front lines, but Jiz had taken severe damage and had to retreat.

The fact that all this damage was caused by the strength of a single individual was more than enough to stir fear in people, creating an optimal condition.

Even among the Demon Kings, the one they trusted the most couldn’t stop it.

That was the Demon King of Fire. This way, feeding flesh into the fear of humanity.

‘The problem is that it’s true!!’

Leviathan gnawed at his lips. Jiz had fought until he was completely bloodied, and perhaps on the verge of death, yet could not stop Hwayo.

In reality, the three siblings couldn’t stop him, leading the masters on the human side to start working with them.

Among them, the greatest help came from the Elves. The magic of the Elf Queen and the presence of Claire were making significant contributions in holding Hwayo’s steps, even if they couldn’t kill him.

After hastily moving Jiz to safety with Na Yang-ho, Leviathan withdrew her clone and was quickly approached by Behemoth.

“Oh, what happened to big brother!? Is he okay!?”

[No idea!! I can only believe the saintess can save him!!]

“Ugh, what do we do, what do we do, sis…!!”

[What do you mean, we fight!! We have to take revenge on that bastard who hurt our siblings!!]

“He’s immortal! What can we possibly do about revenge…!! Sis, you need to pull yourself together!! This isn’t the time for that!”

Under Behemoth’s urgent cry, the flames flickering in Leviathan’s pupils dimmed slightly.

Perhaps this was also the power of Hwayo. Hwayo was dominantly ruling over violence, which could mentally be expressed as anger.

[…Huh, right, phew… Sorry, I lost my reason. Behi, are you okay!?]

“I have many injuries, but I’m fine. I wasn’t close to dying yet.”

Behemoth’s regeneration was second to none. Even if one’s heart or brain was destroyed, they could regenerate, so you could say that.

In fact, it was primarily because of Behemoth that they were able to endure this long against Hwayo.

However, even that had its limits. As the battle went on, Hwayo’s power was growing increasingly stronger.

What initially was only about injuring them now gradually reached deeper into their forms.

[…It looks like we have to cooperate with the humans. They might not welcome us, but….]

“Then I’ll head to the front lines first. Sis, negotiate and come back quickly, alright?”

Upon Leviathan nodding her head, Behemoth darted off. For the sake of her brother, Leviathan urgently needed to settle matters with the human commanders.

Only after witnessing her brother in a dying state did she realize that she loved her family. Perhaps human life didn’t really matter to her anymore.

The discussions with the commander and the guild leader of the adventurer’s guild surprisingly concluded quickly. The conditions they offered were incredibly simple.

As long as the person willingly agrees, it is acceptable. When she first heard this, Leviathan thought no one would come.

However, contrary to her expectations, many stepped forward to help them.

What was especially impressive were the hunters whose limbs were not intact… for example, the martial arts alliance leader and others.

“To challenge the strong is the way of a warrior.”

They said as they charged forward. Knowing full well they might die, there was not a trace of hesitation in their resolute demeanor.

[…We have to endure. I don’t know how long it will take, but.]

Leviathan murmured, gazing toward Moryo’s fortress. Initially, she was confident she could hold out for a long time, but now, she only wished for their swift return.

*

With a crack, the frozen shadow shattered under Kim Yoo-min’s authority. As the curtain of ice was repeatedly shattered and progressed, the group including Ilucia and Kai joined Yeon-woo.

However, what appeared beyond that was an unexpected sight.

Choi Yeon-woo was watching from behind, while Tae-oh and Moryo were engaged in battle, manipulating shadows.

“Oh, hey guys, you made it?”

As Yeon-woo greeted the group from Baek In-hwa with a complicated expression, they gazed blankly at the scene, having not heard a word from Lime. Meanwhile, Baek In-hwa approached Yeon-woo.

“…Did he really become a Demon King?”

“It seems so. Thanks to that, dealing with Moryo has become more manageable….”

Though they appeared to be just hitting against shadows and wasting time, in essence, what they were fighting over was control of the nanomachines.

However, Tae-oh was slightly losing in that control battle.

Perhaps that snake on his shoulder or dragon traits were one of the conditions that the owner of the nanomachines should possess.

Regardless, it was a brief moment of rest that had been grasped. Yeon-woo decided to recover as much stamina as he could.

Inevitably, he would use the master’s secret ability, which took an outrageous amount of stamina.

“Just hang in there a bit longer, Tae-oh.”

[Hehe, leave it to me, Dad!]

“…You spoke properly again…?”

…Ah, you guys are gonna start from there, huh?

(To be continued in the next chapter)