Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 453: The Balance of Shadows

There was no denying that in terms of pure shadow quantity, Moryo didn’t lag behind. Yet somehow, the shadows of the two Demon Kings created a perfect balance.

It was as if their understanding of shadows differed completely. Moryo had absolutely no interest in what his power was or what it could do. In contrast, Tae-oh had come to a clear realization of the powers he possessed.

He knew the essence was nanomachines, and that within them resided the souls of the deceased.

Having even conversed with them, he had become the foremost authority on shadows in this world.

Moryo could not grasp why he was evenly matched against Tae-oh. Perhaps he would never understand in his lifetime. The countless beings he devoured had led the nanomachines to learn emotions and personalities.

As a result, part of the nanomachines began a sort of strike, choosing to obey Tae-oh instead of Moryo.

It was only natural that he didn’t know the truth about nanomachines, but such details were trivial.

Yeon-woo was carefully assessing the situation. From the output of shadows to the timing of their launch and retrieval.

Experiencing it firsthand provided information that mere observation could not.

From the rippling shadows to the countless details, all came into Yeon-woo’s vision.

Calculating how much grace time he had to dive into Moryo’s bosom to behead him didn’t take long.

‘This isn’t gonna be easy.’

Yeon-woo concluded it was indeed difficult. The shadow’s current, which seemed rather unassuming, held enough power to melt a person away. Whether it could be termed ‘power’ was debatable, but still.

Moryo seemed to be operating his shadows more offensively rather than defensively.

One could say he had pushed the trait of melting objects to its limit. Even so, because of its highly threatening nature, it excelled as a defensive measure, too.

Even Yeon-woo couldn’t withstand Moryo’s heightened shadow power.

Even if he could, it would only be for a few seconds. No matter what, moving in during that time to decapitate would be impossible.

“I need a path.”

“Oh, Yeon-woo says he needs a path. Are you ready?”

Hearing Yeon-woo’s mumble, Namgung Seong remarked while looking at Kim Yoo-min and Baek In-hwa.

Up until that moment, the wonderment at Tae-oh’s normal conversation had made both nod in response.

“A path? That’ll be something Namgung Seong and I can open.”

“…Then I’ll maintain it until Tae-oh and Yeon-woo return.”

[I’ll do my best, Dad!]

“Uh, uh okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

Yeon-woo nodded in a daze as their roles were concluded in an instant. After all, having spent a long time together, no traffic management seemed necessary.

As soon as he finished speaking, Namgung Seong gripped his sword and stepped toward the shadow ahead.

Tae-oh’s shadow was like a rampart, preventing Moryo’s shadow from moving toward Namgung Seong.

Then, Moryo’s previously hindered shadow surged forth like a tsunami. The dense aura felt as if it were choking the very ground and air.

However, upon witnessing this, Namgung Seong grinned cheerfully. It was a refreshing smile, as if he were witnessing this for the umpteenth time.

Countering the thick aura that choked them, pure, azure internal energy erupted forth. It made it feel like the others could breathe a lot easier.

Emperor’s Sword Form. It was not merely a sword technique, nor strictly a martial art.

To prove that fact, Namgung Seong had abandoned even the foundational postures.

The Emperor’s Sword Form was solely his. It was merely a reflection of his mind, where he alone existed in the sky.

Instead of feeling the heavy pressure of a single sword on his shoulder, it felt as though the expanse of the blue sky was pressing down from all directions, penetrating into his very being.

‘…He has improved significantly.’

Although Yeon-woo didn’t know a lick about the martial arts of the Namgung clan, he easily recognized the stark increase in the quality of Emperor’s Sword Form.

Just observing how effectively he used his internal energy and how comfortably he handled it made that clear.

Just by breathing in and out, the shadowy figures that melted the air seemed to shrink back.

It wasn’t as if they had learned fear. The density of the atmosphere was too heavy, causing even the nanomachines to take time melting through it.

In the midst of that, Namgung Seong lightly lifted his sword. The aura surrounding the blade cleaved through shadows.

The azure sky filled the gaps.

The Emperor’s Sword Form aimed merely to halt the movement of shadows, while opening a path was simply a matter of technique.

Since neither Namgung Seong’s mana nor stamina was infinite, he needed to finish this as quickly as possible.

Seemingly sensing Yeon-woo’s thoughts, Kim Yoo-min clenched his fists behind Namgung Seong. Power surged into her fists, and mana wound around her arms.

“Ura-ra-ra-ra!!”

With a fierce battle cry, she launched a powerful punch. The energy infused into her fist smashed through the nanomachine mass.

One hit wasn’t enough. This called for her specialty, a rapid series of strikes.

Tu, two, dududududu!! Punches rained down like a Gatling gun, brutally demolishing the nanomachines blocking their path.

Without hesitation, Kim Yoo-min pushed forward, carving out her path through the shadows. The cold air from Baek In-hwa froze the approaching shadows, forming a massive ice wall.

The result vaguely stood a bit taller than Yeon-woo’s chest. It was clear Kim Yoo-min was significantly taller than him. It was quite inconvenient, but not impossible for Yeon-woo to pass.

When he glanced back, Ilucia flashed a gentle smile. It was oddly encouraging, prompting Yeon-woo to move.

How long they had before the limit was called was unknown. It was enough to induce anxiety, but conversely, it meant that finishing quickly could resolve it.

Yeon-woo dashed down the seemingly endless tunnel of dark ice. It was quite uncomfortable to run bent over, so to facilitate this, he slightly altered his body for quadrupedal movement.

Just in case, with a sword clenched in his mouth, he dashed into a dome-shaped shadow structure.

What awaited him inside was painfully obvious. Yeon-woo reverted his right arm to normal, gripping the sword he had been holding in his mouth.

Swoosh. As the shadows peeled back, Yeon-woo leaped inside.

*

The moment he stepped in, Yeon-woo easily realized what this structure was for.

It resembled a cocoon—something created for a life to evolve.

Just as a pupa hatches to become a butterfly, Moryo had hidden inside, perhaps to evolve… or to conceal his true form.

Yeon-woo kicked away human-like body parts lying at his feet.

They couldn’t possibly belong to someone else, so it was safe to assume they belonged to Moryo himself.

‘What on earth is he doing ripping off his own limbs?’

Thinking so, Yeon-woo surveyed the surroundings and discovered a colossal creature.

In terms of sheer size, it was comparable to Nea’s actual body—a dragon of enormous proportions…

Yet it was far too grotesque to be simply called a dragon, staring down at Yeon-woo with fly-like eyes.

[Peek-a-boo.]

“What a load of nonsense.”

Boom! The moment their eyes met, a gigantic front leg slammed down toward Yeon-woo. He narrowly dodged to the side, gazing up into the air.

Zahak, who had been clinging to the dome-like cocoon ceiling like a chameleon, flicked his tongue and looked down at Yeon-woo.

[You look just so pathetic, hero. This is a realm far beyond your half-hearted powers. Do you wish for some mercy?]

“Mercy? What mercy?”

As someone who despised bugs—especially flies—Yeon-woo had no reason to accept such a proposal.

If someone offered him half the world, there might be some sentiment involved, but who would happily accept becoming like the eye of the same pesky fly?

With black liquid dripping from its body and those fly eyes for features, one would have to truly crave power to accept such a proposal.

Thus, Yeon-woo steeled himself. He had to strike down this grotesque and horrendous dragon and bury its name, Moryo, into the annals of history.

If he failed, a dragon with fly eyes could potentially re-emerge someday.

[Don’t fear. Death is but a fleeting moment.]

“True enough.”

As the two exchanged brief remarks, a whoosh! followed by a tremendous sound of wind signaled something swinging toward him. If it were someone else, this would have likely landed the hit, but not Yeon-woo.

From the moment he heard the sound, he had captured the entirety of Moryo’s form in his sight, meaning the only part he had to dodge was its tail.

For someone who could be dubbed the world’s foremost expert on dragons, dodging a tail attack was a breeze, even with his eyes closed.

Swoosh! Moryo’s massive tail swiped the ground. Yeon-woo was long gone from that spot. It wasn’t even a sweeping motion across the ground; there was no reason for Yeon-woo to take a hit from a flat attack.

Evading the tail swipe that left deep scars on the ground, Yeon-woo sharpened the edge of his blade. Attacking was a challenge. The creature was clinging to the ceiling after all.

Yeon-woo leaped up high. His gaze met the enormous fly eyes.

So disgusting. Yeon-woo thought while raising two fingers in a gesture to channel his sword art.

With a whoosh, yellow lightning crackled around the sword art. It’s the standard rule for flies to be met with electric fly swatters. Moreover, it worked splendidly on nanomachines, making it a double whammy.

Soaring in mid-air, Yeon-woo shattered the silver mana. To regain balance, he pressed against the ceiling and swung his sword fiercely toward that abhorrent eye.

Zzzzap!!

Like lightning rising from the ground, the electrified sword swung towards the fly’s eye with the intent to carve it out.

[…Cough.]

Yet, even so, Moryo smiled. Shadows cascaded from the split eye.

(To be continued in the next installment)