Chapter 253: The Thousand Curses Dragon (5)

“You ready, Ha-Eun?”

Song Ha-Eun nodded with slight discomfort. “Y-Yeah.”

Kwon Oh-Jin took a few steps back, nodding as he grabbed a towel and covered his nose. “Fire!”

“

Ugh

.” Song Ha-Eun tightly shut her eyes and tossed the Dragon Pearl in her hand deep into the manhole.

Sizzle!

The red Dragon Pearl melted through the surface and drilled deep into the sewer. Then, the flames condensed within it burst forth like an unchained beast.

Rumble!

The entire area trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck.

“Wh-What the hell?!”

The explosion was far more powerful than expected.

Song Ha-Eun frantically looked down at her black leather gloves. Was it because the gloves had amplified her mana? Even so, this felt way too strong.

“It’s because of the gas,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Gas?”

He nodded and handed her a handkerchief.

The sewage filled with methane gas had been sitting underground for the past six years. It was basically a time bomb, and Song Ha-Eun had used her most destructive skill. Naturally, the explosion would be massive.

Of course, along with the blast, the gas shot up to the surface with an ungodly stench.

“

Uuurgh!

” Vega staggered in the air and landed on Kwon Oh-Jin’s shoulder, groaning in pain while holding her nose. “

Ugh

. M-My head is spinning.”

“Quick, cover your nose with this.”

Actually, Vega handled it relatively well compared to the others.

“

Grrr, kugh!

Kid! D-Do something about this vile stench, please!” Riarc, possessing a sense of smell dozens of times more sensitive than a human’s, turned deathly pale like he would collapse any second.

“Just hang in there a little longer. It’ll pass,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“How do you expect me to endure this hellish odor?!”

“Didn’t you say warriors endure with grit?”

“This isn’t a matter of grit!” Riarc writhed in agony.

Isabella, Vega, and Song Ha-Eun all pinched their noses and visibly struggled, though not quite as badly as Riarc.

Kwon Oh-Jin said a few encouraging words. “When it’s too painful to bear, just remember one thing.”

Everyone looked at him.

“No matter how much we’re struggling... There’s someone out there having a way shittier time than us!”

He grinned as he looked down at the cracked ground. The only thing that had come up and reached them so far was gas. As for the actual filth, he didn’t need to wonder where that had gone.

“No matter how awful and painful this is, just imagine how miserable that bastard must be right now, and you’ll get through it!”

“What kind of comforting words are those, you weirdo?” Song Ha-Eun snorted in disbelief.

It sounded a bit crazy at first.

“But thinking about it that way, it actually does help.”

Despite the pain, imagining the enemy’s greater suffering provided a kind of psychological comfort, especially a deeply hated enemy that deserved to be torn limb from limb. In that case, even this stench started to feel refreshing.

Right on cue, a thunderous noise echoed out as the ground began to shake again.

Rumble!

The Dragon Pearl had already exploded, and something beneath the surface now desperately clawed its way up.

“

Kraaaaaa!

”

Boom!

The ground burst open, and instead of the Thousand Curses Dragon, a man drenched in filth popped out like a mole. The man with deep purple hair flailed wildly, trying to wipe the filth off himself.

“W-What the hell?! What is this?!

Ugh!

”

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned at the unfamiliar man. “

Huh

?”

Had Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memory been wrong? Doubt started to creep in.

“Do not worry. That creature is no man. He’s a beast wearing a human’s skin.” Vega sharply glared at the man. “Doesn't he have those black horns on his forehead like we saw before?”

“

Oh

, you’re right.”

Like Vega said, black horns indeed protruded from the man's forehead just like the ones they saw in the photo before. Though, they looked much smaller than when he was in his dragon form.

What’s up with those horns?

Even in Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memories, the dragon never had any horns.

“

Kugh

. Was this your doing?”

They had no time to dwell on it. The dragon shook off the filth and glared at them.

“How did you like our gift?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“What?”

“Never mind, forget it.” Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled as he looked at the dragon up and down.

The dragon looked pitiful, covered in filth, but he was actually a strikingly handsome man.

“Do you usually walk around in human form? You made such a fuss about humans being lowly and all that.”

Kwon Oh-Jin hadn’t spoken to the Thousand Curses Dragon directly six years ago, but he clearly remembered what the dragon had said while massacring humans on live broadcast.

The dragon narrowed his slit eyes and glared at Kwon Oh-Jin. “Who are you?”

He didn’t know exactly who these humans were, but this group had obviously dirtied his lair.

His slit amber eyes burned with killing intent. “How dare you defile the lair of Lord Barbatos with filth!”

“

Whoa

, you refer to yourself in third person?”

The dragon sounded like a top-tier anime girl.

“Shut up!” Barbatos stomped violently.

Boom!

Having regained some clarity, his gaze shifted to those around Kwon Oh-Jin. He carefully eyed Vega, Riarc, and Isabella. Then, his eyes froze when they landed on Song Ha-Eun.

“

Hm?

You’re...” Barbatos narrowed his eyes, and a slow smirk crept up his face. “You’re that bitch who came at me before.”

His eyes slithered over her like a snake’s tongue.

Song Ha-Eun’s expression turned into stone.

“

Hmm

. How did you break the curse of blindness?” Barbatos cocked his head and slowly scanned Song Ha-Eun from head to toe.

The curse he had placed on her back then couldn’t just be broken over time.

“I hoped that you’d remain trapped in darkness, stripped of light, and writhing in agony until I came back,” Barbatos muttered bitterly, his face twisting in disappointment.

Six years ago, when he led his army to invade the human cities, he had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of humans blessed with Stigmas from Celestials. He had fought dozens, hundreds of humans, yet the memory of that red-haired woman burned vividly in his mind even now.

“Die, you lizard bastard!”

No matter how many curses he hurled at her, she kept charging at him undeterred. He remembered the fiery resolve in her eyes, that burning flame of defiance.

“

Khaha

. Are you afraid of me now?” Barbatos stuck out his tongue at Song Ha-Eun, frozen in place.

Her eyes no longer held the same fire, which proved she feared him. He didn’t need to guess where that fear came from.

“You must have suffered quite a bit during those dark years.”

Song Ha-Eun fiercely glared at him. “Shut up.”

He wore human skin, but she could still recall the memories and the nightmare of that day. The despair of being trapped in utter darkness and devoid of even a sliver of light.

“

Hahaha!

So you came here for revenge?” Barbatos laughed as if he understood the situation, and a sinister glint flashed across his jagged amber eyes. “You sure have guts. I’ll give you that, but you picked the wrong enemy.”

Woong!

He began shimmering with purple light as powerful mana surged around him.

“This Barbatos will once again cast you into endless darkness!” His malevolent laugh echoed throughout, and his violet hair fluttered wildly as if caught in a sudden wind.

“Dude, your breath smells like shit,” Kwon Oh-Jin murmured under his breath.

A thick vein bulged on Barbatos’s forehead. He furiously bared his teeth at Kwon Oh-Jin, who stood unfazed.

“You insolent human!”

The Thousand Curses Dragon, once a being who mastered a thousand curses and held a king’s favor in the Demonic District, had taken quite the blow to his pride. After all, he had scrambled out of his lair covered in sewage.

Kwon Oh-Jin pulled the trembling Song Ha-Eun behind him and stepped forward as if to shield her.

“Still, thanks for remembering Ha-Eun. If you had forgotten, this wouldn’t even count as revenge.”

A deep, sunken look filled his eyes, and ghostly blue flames blazed within his gaze.

“

Hmph

. What do you think you’ll achieve with three mere humans, a beast, and a fly?”

Vega snarled, her expression contorting into fury. “Did you just call me a fly?”

Blue lightning crackled around her.

“How dare some lowly lizard like you speak to me like that!” Vega shouted.

“Wait a second, Vega.”

Kwon Oh-Jin held Vega back before she could charge in. He needed to gauge Barbatos’ strength first.

He’s supposed to be weak in close combat.

If that were true, the most efficient strategy would be to draw the fight into close quarters. Among them, the two most suitable for that were Kwon Oh-Jin and Riarc.

Kwon Oh-Jin grinned at Riarc. “You ready?”

“Yeah. I’m always ready to tear that arrogant lizard apart.” Riarc transformed into his werewolf form, his eyes gleaming with a savage light.

“Alright. On the count of three, we go in together.” Kwon Oh-Jin lowered his stance.

Riarc’s leg muscles bulged, and bolts of blue lightning flickered through his silver mane.

Barbatos spread his arms wide with an arrogant grin. “

Khahaha!

Come, then! Come at me as much as you like!”

Purple light surged around him, gathering into cursed energy that began to take form around him.

Kwon Oh-Jin clenched his fist and shouted, “Let’s go, Riarc!”

“I’m ready, kid!”

They locked eyes and nodded.

“One!”

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Boom!

Kwon Oh-Jin activated Exceed, turning into a bolt of blue lightning as he dashed forward.

Crack!

Just as Barbatos prepared his curse, Kwon Oh-Jin’s lightning-cloaked fist smashed violently into his philtrum.