Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

---

Chapter 455: The Dragon Born of Shadows

The dragon fashioned from black shadows swelled with light. Not from its own greed, but from the greed of shadows. Perhaps the inherent stickiness of the shadow attribute was the problem.

How pitiful it was, unable to even spit out what had entered its mouth.

Watching Moryo spew blood-ridden light while letting out a horrific scream, Yeon-woo naturally picked up a crystal of light rolling on the ground.

The aftermath of the explosion was settling down. The crystal of light carelessly tossed onto the ground wasn’t completely devoured, but pieces of it were being consumed by shadows and destroyed.

Although in a state of half-consciousness due to excessive pain, Moryo still knew. That the crystals of light were tormenting him.

Hence, the nest that surrounded Yeon-woo’s party was gradually crumbling, but Moryo lacked the discernment to notice this state.

For any living being, there’s a natural instinct to focus on eliminating whatever is currently causing them pain.

“Baek In-hwa, you use the crystals of light from below. I’ll go up.”

“…Got it.”

Baek In-hwa stood stiffly, shocked by the sudden death of their companions, but it seemed her wits returned at Yeon-woo’s words.

As Yeon-woo jumped up, thin ice spread across the ground. The crystals of light that had been slowly sinking into the shadows started to rise above the shadows.

With a thud, the bouncing crystals of light began to be enveloped in frost.

In that moment, Yeon-woo observed Moryo closely. He was looking for something that could be a weakness among Moryo’s oozing flesh.

‘…I can’t believe I’m asking this, Shar.’

[What is it!?]

At Yeon-woo’s words, Shar replied quickly. It was indeed a difficult question to ask, but with a heart-rending feeling, Yeon-woo continued.

‘Is there perhaps a weakness to the dragon?’

[…Hmm.]

Shar made a sound of contemplation in response. Honestly, wasn’t it a bit absurd? Here he was, a father asking after his daughter’s weakness. What a ridiculous situation indeed.

[Well, it’s different for each dragon. If it’s an Eastern dragon, there should be the reverse scale, but for us, maybe… unmm.]

‘So no suitable answer then?’

[If I had to pinpoint something, maybe the mana core.]

‘Mana core, the one for breath dragons?’

[Yeah, since it’s currently in tatters, targeting it might not be a bad idea.]

‘Understood. Get ready to transform into a dragon. We’ll probably need it.’

[Got it! I’ll be ready!]

It seemed reasonable to believe that the mana core of a breath dragon would qualify as a weakness. However, conversely, directly stabbing into it felt like pure madness.

It was akin to using a lighter at a gas station.

No matter how much Yeon-woo was, there was no way he would want to endure the mana explosion resulting from destroying the mana core unprotected.

He would only do it as a last resort, but the situation hadn’t reached that dire level yet.

‘Considering that I’ll need to defeat Hwayo next, I must preserve my strength as much as possible.’

The reason Yeon-woo remained oddly calm, despite normally charging in head-first to kill a demon king, lay precisely in this thought.

Killing Moryo wasn’t the end; he needed to conserve his energy.

Of course, it was evident that fighting two demon kings in less than half a day was akin to committing suicide. But what could he do?

Once today passed, both Moryo and Hwayo would undoubtedly wreak havoc upon the world.

Moryo had always been that type, but becoming a dragon had only amplified the craziness, while Hwayo’s violent cult, which had served as a kind of restraint, had vanished.

Honestly, given how the situation here was slowly stabilizing, Yeon-woo was far more concerned about the outside world.

There was the Earth Serpent, and even Leviathan, but Hwayo’s power was something he couldn’t fathom.

The flowing shadowy dragon and the ice and light adorning the air, along with the moonlight hung upon his sword, filled Yeon-woo’s vision.

*

[So it is.]

The Earth Serpent mumbled as it observed the battlefield. It felt the presence. Yet, it had no idea that it would be to this extent.

The overflowing murderous intent of an individual shook the heavens and the earth, and the blood and flesh spilled by one person soaked the entire world.

Merely living and breathing caused life on the ground to meet death. The lifespan of the earth dwindled. Blood flowed like rivers…

[You were born riding a star that would kill everything.]

What an absurdity it was. Though the Earth Serpent had lived for eons and traveled through countless worlds, it had never seen a being like this.

To think a being that was immortal and indestructible was destined to kill the world was something it couldn’t comprehend based on common sense.

The world is more equitable than one might think. It does not grant excessive power to an individual.

Look at Choi Yeon-woo. He may be a bit lazy, but as a single human, the abilities bestowed upon him are hardly impressive.

He wasn’t born with innate mana; he forcibly opened his mana circuits through contracts and overcame his lack of talent for swords with a good teacher.

Well, one could throw his excuses about trivial laziness into the basket of innate talent.

Yet, what about the Demon King of Fire? From immortality to the unique lack of restraint intrinsic to the celestial core, its charisma in leading a group is on par and doesn’t seem lacking.

[What a curious thing.]

[…I wish you’d step forward instead of just talking.]

[I do intend to, young friend. So, I have something I want to ask.]

The Earth Serpent spoke in a nonchalant manner, and the Leviathan’s avatar nodded as if to prompt it to continue.

Gugugugugu…

[I would really like you to help remove those still alive. Honestly, I’m having a hard time controlling my power.]

[…Understood. I will assist.]

The gigantic body of the Earth Serpent began to sweep the ground. A monster that could demolish massive fortresses merely by swinging its tail. This world’s largest serpent treats the vast gorge like its own bed.

It was for the sake of one small human who was smaller than a toothpick.

Golden waves surged. To create space for the Earth Serpent to move, Leviathan’s powers intertwined through the sea of corpses present on the battlefield.

Those who lay as if dead, unable to emit even a groan, began to be ferried away by that wave.

[Wherever they go.]

Of course, not every single one could return alive. Hwayo seemed displeased by someone escaping from the battlefield she occupied, and even while being attacked by many, she tactfully withdrew, severing the golden ripple with her own hands.

“We must stop them from getting away…!!”

Coughing up a handful of dead blood, Jin Baek-cheon shouted so. There wasn’t a single intact part on his body.

Aside from the arm lost in the battle with the Heavenly Demon, his leg was twisted backward, and a large chunk was torn from his side.

His spear, which was his symbol, had shattered into several pieces, no longer worthy of being called a spear.

“Lord…!!”

Some warriors approached him to offer assistance, but Jin Baek-cheon shook his head.

He had no luxury to invest in himself. After all, Kim Yoosoon was trying to rescue survivors, so as long as they could stop Hwayo’s movements, they’d have a chance to survive.

“If we stop the demon king, everything else will resolve itself. You all must proceed to halt the demon king…!!”

Warriors, filled with resolve upon witnessing Jin Baek-cheon’s state, grit their teeth and turned away. Numerous warriors, battered and bruised, were following suit to stop Hwayo.

A grotesque entity, resembling a living being, still roamed nonchalantly on the ground.

Those pursuing it were merely delaying their deaths due to repeated training, but they were all aware that death lingered far too closely.

*

Countless arms sprouted from Moryo’s body, gripping the shadow spheres in hand. Each one held the power equivalent to a dark explosion of a Doppleganger.

Fortunately, Baek In-hwa still had a decent amount of crystals of light remaining. Even in a war of attrition, she might be able to offset the losses a bit.

In the meantime, Yeon-woo was synchronizing consciousness with Shar. It would be accurate to say he had set up the conditions to transform.

Though he had minimized the delay through practice, the technique of transformation would still take some time.

Soon, a scorching mana began to flow through Yeon-woo’s body. It was several times more intense than the mana he usually manipulated.

Scales began to emerge on his skin along the path of the mana coursing through him, and a tail formed from the mana materialized.

Of course, such external changes to his body weren’t crucial in this situation. Though it would be safe to stab into the mana core with this state.

Moryo swung its arms. Two shadow spheres combined, and a massive mana reaction began within.

Baek In-hwa hurled the crystals of light towards Moryo, while Yeon-woo wielded his mana to guide their trajectory.

However, Moryo wasn’t just sitting idle. An arm abruptly shot out from its wings, firing the shadow sphere above, and it descended to the ground.

As if regaining posture, Moryo’s mouth opened wide.

Its lower jaw seemed to have no supporting muscles left, dropping to the ground, and as the depths of that abyss revealed itself to their gaze, Baek In-hwa felt shivers down her spine.

She thought she was a beat too late. Rushing to mold an ice wall from the ground, she wasn’t sure if it would even generate in time. Even if it did, whether it could withstand the breath of a demon king was a question far graver.

But in such a situation, Choi Yeon-woo stepped a pace forward. As if anticipating the event, mana was pooling in Yeon-woo’s body, specifically around his neck.

Choi Yeon-woo’s mouth opened. A silver magic circle appeared before his face, starting to rotate. Its composition was exceptionally simple. It was a magic circle for amplifying sound.

The abyss’s foul liquid began to surge forth. Something horrifying, gathering the malice of humanity, poured out from that abyss-like mouth and started to devour everything.

Against the dense darkness, resembling the bottom of an abyss, stood merely a brute force.

Shar’s breath was just simple sound pressure. A roar burst forth, transcending the common sense of sound.

In terms of sheer power, Shar’s breath would hold the upper hand, but right now, the one utilizing the breath wasn’t Shar but Yeon-woo.

Although he gained the ability to control the breath through transformation, it was naturally weakened as it came not from a dragon’s vocal cords.

Yet sometimes, being weakened can transform into an unexpected advantage. For instance, when it falls right into the threshold of the spell’s standards.

Compared to Shar’s, it barely amounted to a quarter of the pressure that soared through the magic circle, instantly pushing its power to the maximum limit.

“────!!”

The shockwave tore through the darkness. The light that flowed through began to illuminate the world little by little.

(To be continued in the next part)