𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕𝟓: 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡
Min Si-joon wiped the blood from his mouth.
Although his brother had used up a lot of his energy, the strength of [Kagutsuchi] was on par with or even stronger than the boss monsters of other Gates.
At this rate, he would be able to reach the top ranks of S-Rank Gates.
Just how had his brother fought when this madman had been at the peak of his strength and divine power?
‘I guess I’ll have to team up with Sister Yeo-hwa to give him a real taste of what we can do.’
Since he was a long-range dealer, he was too busy dodging or defending against his opponent’s close-range attacks to use his skills properly.
Min Si-joon had some leeway in his mana thanks to the fact that he had released the barrier, but that was only meaningful if his opponent was hit by it.
[Kagutsuchi] soared high into the air, then swooped down to the ground like a missile.
It seemed that he was stockpiling mana and divine power, and for a while now he had been attacking Min Si-joon primarily with close-range attacks.
However, even if he couldn’t breathe fire, a dragon was still a dragon.
His entire body, from head to tail, was like a weapon, making close-range combat impossible.
[Azure Water: Water Wall]
A giant wall of water erupted from the ground, blocking the path of the fire dragon.
Even a normal tail attack was too fast to dodge, so there was no choice but to avoid it.
What’s more, it was impossible to dodge the super-fast descent from the sky.
That’s why blocking his attack route was his best option.
Min Si-joon caught his breath behind the water wall.
Hundreds of numbers, symbols, and letters gathered mana and created a magic circle in the air.
Min Si-joon touched the magic circle with the end of his staff.
Then the magic circle was sucked into the magic stone at the end of the staff and condensed.
Now everything was ready.
The moment he broke through the water wall, the magic amplified by his staff would freeze the fire dragon’s body solid.
“. . . . . .”
However, after 1 second, then 2 seconds, the wall was still intact.
Only then did Min Si-joon start to look around warily.
Was he hoping that I would fall for such an obvious trap?
He extended his mana waves in all directions with anxious eyes.
At that moment,
He felt a gaze from an unexpected direction.
Min Si-joon looked up.
The top of the water wall.
Beyond it, bright yellow eyes flashed down to the ground like lightning.
“Keuk!!”
Min Si-joon hurriedly activated the freezing magic he had put in his staff.
Kwa-dadadadadad!!
The cold that froze the air.
However, the fire dragon leisurely slipped through the gap and opened its maw wide at Min Si-joon.
Razor-sharp fangs hung down like the scythe of the grim reaper.
『Ƙɾɾɾ! Ӏե’s օѵҽɾ!』
The dragon’s head, which had come right up to Min Si-joon’s nose━
Zzeureureureung!!
A fist slammed it into the ground with an earth-shattering roar.
The earth shook and dust flew up.
With a single, simple punch that wasn’t even a skill.
“Hyung!!”
Min Si-joon burst into tears and hugged his brother tightly.
Siwoo looked embarrassed and stroked his brother’s head.
He hadn’t had time to consider the shock that those around him would feel, since it had been an unplanned move.
The younger brother, who was held in his older brother’s arms, muttered “I’m so glad, I’m so glad” to himself several times.
What if I lost my brother again. . . .
His voice was filled with the anxiety and worry that he had fought against during the difficult times.
“Hyung. . . Don’t leave me again. . .”
The absence of his family, which his brother had endured for so long.
Siwoo embraced his brother, feeling both sorry and grateful.
“Yes, I won’t go anywhere.”
Even though he was the head of a large guild, he was still a young brother in his eyes.
A kind brother who always suffered because of his clumsy and immature older brother.
Kooguu-
At that moment, Kagutsuchi, who had been lying on the ground, rose to his feet and flew into the air.
『Ƙɾɾɾ! Ӏ ϲƖҽɑɾƖყ թํҽɾϲҽժ հํs հҽɑɾե, sօ հօա ํs հҽ sեํƖƖ ɑƖํѵҽ?』
He had thought that the human was unusually strong for a human.
But no matter how strong, a human was still a human.
He should still die if his heart was gone, right?
“Thank you. For worrying about me, too.”
『Ӈօա ժɑɾҽ ყօմ ϲօʍҽ ɑե եհํs օƖժ ʍɑղ Ɩํƙҽ ɑ ʍօեհ sօ ʍɑղყ եํʍҽs. . . . Ӏ աօղ’ե Ɩҽե ყօմ ժํҽ ҽɑsํƖყ!』
The fire dragon bared his teeth, breathing out flames of rage.
『Ӏ աํƖƖ ժҽƒํղํեҽƖყ ƙํƖƖ ყօմ, ҽѵҽղ ํƒ Ӏ հɑѵҽ եօ ҍҽե ҽѵҽɾყեհํղց Ӏ հɑѵҽ.』
Kagutsuchi’s mana and divinity began to condense in one place.
In the pitch-black sky, thunder and lightning tore through the darkness, and even the trees in the distant forest trembled.
Hoo-oooooong
A deep red and black heat gathered in the open maw.
‘This is his final blow.’
Everyone present realized it.
If they could just block this one, then they could finish him off.
However, the flames of [Kagutsuchi] were the breath of a god, impossible to extinguish by any means.
In terms of Western dragons, it was a kind of ‘dragon’s breath’, a catastrophic flame that had destroyed countless people and tribes in legends.
It wasn’t something that a single person could block.
Of course, Siwoo had blocked it twice, but this time the flames were his last resort, so it wouldn’t be easy.
Hayakawa watched Siwoo’s battle from behind, feeling restless.
Kagutsuchi’s current mana and divine power were so intense that even she, as a shaman, had never encountered anything like it before.
With this level of divine power, she would need to borrow the power of the other clan leaders in addition to the <Hayakawa Family>.
‘I wonder if Sir Siwoo and Hunter Min Si-joon will be able to block such an attack.’
Red Ear looked blankly up at the sky, panting from mana depletion due to using Mahuraga.
That last attack would be three or four times more powerful than Mahuraga’s.
‘This old man has no regrets about dying here, but master is someone who should change this world in the future. . . . I’m sorry that I can’t think of a way to protect him.’
Red Ear didn’t run away or hide, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
Whether he lived or died, shouldn’t he do it together?
Siwoo poked his frozen brother in the side.
“What are you doing? You need to prepare to counterattack.”
“But how can we possibly. . .”
“Can’t we just blow it away?”
“. . .Well.”
Siwoo smiled broadly at his younger brother’s trembling face and gave him an instruction.
Then he took a few steps forward and glared at the fire dragon.
『Ƙɾɾɾ! Ɗํҽ ํղ ɑցօղყ, ʍօɾեɑƖs!』
Kagutsuchi squeezed every last bit of mana and divine power in his body to create his final flame.
The crimson fireball that gathered in his maw fell towards Siwoo like a meteor.
The flames that approached, scorching the atmosphere, were hotter than anything he had ever felt before.
Min Si-joon raised his arm to cover his eyes and gritted his teeth.
It was hard to even open his eyes because of the blazing flames and heat.
However, Siwoo looked at it calmly, turning his neck from side to side.
“It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I’m a little nervous.”
Then he stretched out both arms in front of him.
Hundreds of shapes and letters formed a circuit, and mana raced along the path.
Brilliant blue lightning flashed, illuminating the surroundings and distorting space.
Siwoo’s lips curled up as his mana rapidly depleted from his dantian.
Two magic circles were formed like that.
“Double casting?!”
Min Si-joon’s eyes widened in surprise.
As far as he knew, his brother had never been able to double cast.
Furthermore, it was a method that was rarely used in actual combat because it was complex, even for a talent.
To put it in perspective, it was like writing with both your left and right hands, using different languages.
Siwoo stretched out both hands towards the flames that were rushing towards him.
[Gale: Ascending Dragon]
[Gale: Ascending Dragon]
Two rough and sharp winds emerged from the magic circles and soared into the sky.
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeing!!
Kagutsuchi’s fireball and Siwoo’s wind collided in the air.
A tremendous wind pressure and gust of wind swept out in all directions.
Anything that was touched by the wind was torn and shattered, and anything that was touched by the flames was burned to ashes.
『Ƙɾɾɾ! Ɑ ʍҽɾҽ աํղժ Ɩํƙҽ եհɑե աօղ’ե ҍҽ ɑҍƖҽ եօ թմե օմե ʍყ ƒƖɑʍҽs!』
In fact, he was right.
No matter how strong the wind was, it wouldn’t extinguish those flames.
On the contrary, it might make them burn even more fiercely.
Siwoo sneered.
“I’m glad that this wind won’t be able to put out your flames.”
The two fierce ascending dragons twisted and intertwined.
The flames were swept up in them and soon became a single cycle within the wind.
『Ⱳհɑե եհҽ. . .?!』
In an instant, the giant ascending dragon swallowed Kagutsuchi whole.
A fierce whirlwind of flames enveloped the divine being and began to torment him with scorching flames and razor-sharp winds.
『Ƙմɑɑɑɑɑɑɑɑɑɑɑɑƙ!!!』
However, even that scream was blocked by the whirlwind and couldn’t be heard.
As the flames that could burn anything in the world covered Kagutsuchi’s scales, he rolled around like a tormented snake.
The divine being gathered his last ounce of strength and lunged forward.
However,
Boom!!
Kagutsuchi couldn’t get out.
That was because Min Si-joon had put up a barrier around the fire dragon, as Siwoo had instructed.
『Ƙɾɾɾ! Ƭհҽsҽ ժɑʍղ եհํղցs!』
The divine being, who had been feared by an entire clan, was now suffering from hellish pain, caught in a whirlwind of blades and flames.
At that moment, Red Ear and Ah-sul approached Siwoo.
“Master, are you okay?!”
“I was surprised because I thought you were going to die!”
“I’m not going to die without saying anything. I’m worried about a lot of things.”
Red Ear, who had been relieved, wiped away the sweat that had run down his face from tension.
He thought he knew Siwoo’s abilities well, but he was always surprised every time he saw him.
Ah-sul took something out and handed it to Siwoo.
“You found it? As expected, your detection abilities are amazing.”
Ah-sul laughed awkwardly at Siwoo’s praise.
His only order in this operation was:
━Find the object that [Kagutsuchi] will share his divine power with.
Although he manifested using the power of his contracted vessel, Hikari Hayakawa, it was impossible for her to handle the power of a god on her own.
Therefore, it was likely that he would synchronize with ‘something’ with high divinity.
That was why he had called forth the divine being in the ruins of the fallen temple.
“It’s a small statue.”
It was a statue covered in dirt and cracks, but it had a subtle aura, and Kagutsuchi’s aura could be felt among it.
“He must have wanted to kill me pretty badly.”
It was thanks to this statue that Kagutsuchi had been able to manifest as the current fire dragon.
If, by any chance, Hayakawa had died, the divine being, who had lost his vessel, would have disappeared as well.
“So is this something like [Kagutsuchi]’s avatar?”
“No. To put it simply, it’s like a second vessel that can reduce the risk to Hikari.”
After finishing speaking, Siwoo stared at the fire dragon, who was still writhing in pain.
‘I’ve tormented him enough to make him come to his senses, right?’
He sighed.
If he left him like that, he would eventually die, but his goal wasn’t to kill the spirit but to tame him.
He had to take it out.
Siwoo recalled the new power that he had gained through gambling not long ago.
It was a power that he had used in the other world, but had been unable to use since returning to Earth.
Like a drop of ink spreading through still water,
A new power flowed throughout Siwoo’s body from his dantian, taking root.
Kka-dadadadad!!
Veins bulged on his forehead and his muscles screamed as he suppressed the boiling power.
Siwoo spread his recovery skill throughout his body.
His body, which had been ravaged by the overwhelming power, began to recover again, bathed in golden healing.
It seemed to be balanced now.
He braced his legs and jumped straight up into the sky.
Min Si-joon’s mouth dropped open at the incredible jumping power.
Siwoo kicked out with all his might.
The people were shocked as the barrier shattered like glass and Kagutsuchi was sent flying to the ground, hit by the kick.