Chapter 255: The Thousand Curses Dragon (7)

Trapped in Barbatos’s grip, Isabella weakly called out to Kwon Oh-Jin, “Mr. Oh-Jin, I-I’m so scared.”

Despite her fearful tone, the corners of her lips twitched upward as she barely suppressed a laugh.

“

Khaha

. Did you hear that, human?” Unable to see her face, Barbatos smugly grinned and believed the situation was in his favor.

He understood how much humans valued social bonds and that those irrational creatures would even risk their lives for others.

Foolish beings.

Dragons did not form societies. They were whole and complete in themselves. Therefore, sacrificing oneself for someone else was the height of foolishness to Barbatos. A creature that could only exist in relation to others meant that humans were born weak at their very core.

“P-Please help, Mr. Oh-Jin!” Isabella cried out pitifully as she dangled in his grasp.

Her scream sounded lovely to Barbatos’s ears. His lips twisted into a pleased grin as he turned to face the human who had dared to wound him. Surely, by now, Kwon Oh-Jin would be pale and shaking in fear.

“

Huh?

” Barbatos’s expression twisted, and the smirk on his face vanished.

Contrary to his expectations, the man who had burned off one of his wings showed no sign of fear.

“

Uh...

you want me to help?” Kwon Oh-Jin said with a conflicted look and scratched his head sheepishly.

Barbatos blinked in confusion.

“I don’t think I can help Barbatos out,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

Barbatos’s face contorted. “What?”

He was the one holding the hostage, so why was his name being brought up like that?

“

Oh

, is that so?” Isabella said.

Why was the hostage calmly nodding in agreement? Nothing made sense.

Barbatos furrowed his brow and growled. “What nonsense are you—”

“Okay then. I’ll just kill him.” Isabella let out a high-pitched giggle and gently placed her hand on the claw holding her.

Her soft fingers brushed over the dragon’s scales. Just as he expected, she had frail and delicate hands.

“I wonder... what dragon’s blood tastes like?”

However, it took less than ten seconds for that feather-light touch to turn into searing agony.

“

Kraaaaaa!

”

His purple scales caved in.

Crack!

His skin tore open, and blood shot up into the air like a fountain.

Barbatos frantically looked down at his arm. “W-What the hell is this?!”

His scales had cracked like a mirror struck by a hammer. He felt a sickening pain as his claw, gripping Isabella, was cleanly severed and splintered apart like a shattered cube.

Landing softly on the ground, Isabella touched the blood spraying around her and licked it.

She frowned in displeasure. “

Hmm

. I expected a lot from dragon blood, but it’s just fishy.”

Despite the blood pouring from Barbatos like a waterfall, not a single drop had stained her clothes. The blood that came down like rain poured around her as if it had a will of its own.

“If I knew he was this weak, I really could’ve come alone.” Isabella lazily waved like swatting at a fly, her excitement already fading.

The blood from Barbatos's wound turned into razor-sharp blades and shredded his body.

Slash!

Staggering back under the assault, Barbatos shrieked again. “

Kraaaaagh!

”

His massive body, over fifty meters tall, crashed to the ground.

Boom!

The battle had ended in less than five minutes.

Kwon Oh-Jin walked toward the fallen dragon and nodded. “Told you we had more than enough power.”

Barbatos, the Thousand Curses Dragon, was undeniably a terrifying monster capable of destroying an entire nation. However, that was six years ago. Awakeners had grown immensely compared to back then. On top of that, Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t just any Awakener. He was a member of the Seven Stars.

I’m not even the strongest among us.

Excluding Riarc and Vega, whose powers were limited due to the restrictions, Kwon Oh-Jin wouldn’t dare to fight Isabella unless he used Open Heaven.

No matter how famous or powerful Barbatos had once been as a nine-star monster, he simply couldn’t defeat them.

We all came just in case... but maybe we didn’t even need to.

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes at the Barbatos. The dragon no longer had the strength to use any curses. They just had to finish him off now.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“I’ll do it,” Isabella said.

“Wait.”

He grabbed her shoulder just as she began approaching Barbatos. It wasn’t logical, but his instincts screamed at him.

There’s no way this is the end.

As that thought passed through his mind, Vega came up beside him.

“My child, I sense an utterly foul energy from those horns.” Vega frowned and pointed to the two black horns sprouting from Barbatos’s forehead.

The twisted horns had grown several meters after he transformed into his dragon form. A sinister energy radiated from them, enough to send chills down one’s spine.

Lying on the ground, Barbatos groaned. “

Ahh, ugh.

”

He thrashed in agony and furiously scraped his head against the ground.

“

Graaaahhhh!

”

The black horns on his forehead began to glow and vibrate.

Barbatos snapped his eyes open and raised his head. “

A-Ah...

Y-Yes. I-I can hear you.”

What was he hearing?

Barbatos nodded toward empty space with a pale expression.

Kwon Oh-Jin followed his gaze, but saw nothing there.

Barbatos staggered to his feet and bowed deeply toward the void. “My master... Grant your lowly servant a blessing... Bestow upon me the great darkness.”

He looked like an Awakener praying to a Celestial for strength.

It seemed that this master had answered as Barbatos’s once shiny purple scales began to take on a dull black hue.

Woong!

An overwhelming dark energy seeped from him like mist.

“

Grrrrrrgh!

”

Trembling in ecstasy, Barbatos raised his bowed head. His amber eyes had turned a chilling blue with ghostly flames.

“

Khahahaha!

Thank you! Thank you, my master!” He cried out in gratitude toward the unseen figure.

Now fully cloaked in the dark energy, Barbatos bared his fangs and glared at Kwon Oh-Jin’s party.

“I’ll admit it, humans. You’ve grown far stronger than you were six years ago.”

The wings that Kwon Oh-Jin’s spear had scorched fully regenerated. Barbatos spread his black wings wide and stood tall once more.

“However...”

The ground shook as if an earthquake struck.

Rumble!

A suffocating aura exploded from Barbatos.

“Do not think I remained the same as I was six years ago!”

Black energy violently surged around the surroundings like a storm.

Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue as he stared at the black horns on Barbatos’s forehead. “So he really did have something up his sleeve,”

From the moment he first saw Barbatos’s photo, those horns had felt ominous. Now, they finally revealed their true power.

Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t know who had granted Barbatos a blessing.

I’ll just beat it out of him.

Kwon Oh-Jin gripped Dantalian and drew his Stigma’s mana. Black lightning crackled across his speartip.

“

Hmm

. So, that’s the hidden trump card the dragon saved up?” Isabella looked Barbatos up and down.

His scales had turned black, and his massive body radiated an aura far stronger than before.

“Still, if this is all you’ve got, then it’s a bit disappointing.”

With a relaxed smile, Isabella lightly dragged her nail across her palm. Blood flowed down her hand, and the falling drops transformed into a massive scythe. Spinning the blood scythe, she licked her lips like a predator eyeing its prey.

Riarc snorted and nodded in agreement. “

Grrr.

Whoever that master of his is, it’s all the same in the end. Borrowing someone else’s power and pretending to be something you’re not.”

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled at the two calmly preparing for round two.

Sure, he probably thinks he’s gotten pretty strong now.

No matter how much of a blessing one received, a cat couldn’t become a tiger overnight.

Still, he’ll never overcome the fundamental gap in power.

Kwon Oh-Jin knew that better than anyone since he had been blessed by Vega before. A gap that once felt like heaven and earth would narrow to more like heaven and a mountain.

They had come as a group after already considering the possibility that Barbatos had a hidden card.

Barbatos didn’t seem to expect their reactions.

He scowled ferociously at the relaxed group and roared. “You wretches dare! Let’s see if you can keep talking like that while writhing in pain!”

Kwon Oh-Jin smiled faintly and pointed his spear at Barbatos. “Well then, shall we start phase two?”

Song Ha-Eun, who had remained silent all this time, stepped forward. “Oh-Jin, wait a second.”

She pulled him back by the shoulder and stepped forward.

“

Hm?

What's wrong, Ha-Eun?”

She glared at Barbatos with heavy, sunken eyes. Then, turning to Kwon Oh-Jin, she asked, “Do you think I could face him alone?”

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned as if she were speaking nonsense. “What? You want to take that guy on by yourself?”

She nodded firmly. “Yeah. Please, Oh-Jin.”

Kwon Oh-Jin firmly shook his head. “If you’re going to say it’s for revenge or something, forget it.”

He wouldn’t let her put herself in danger for something like that.

“It’s not for revenge,” she said.

“Then what is it?”

Song Ha-Eun turned back toward Barbatos. An eerie black light now cloaked the dragon. For some reason, even though she had just seen him broken and pathetic on the ground, that black dragon now looked more terrifying than anything she had ever faced.

She walked toward the dragon, recalling the memories from that day and how she had been trapped in pitch-black darkness. Even now, six years later, the nightmare remained carved in her brain and would never fade.

“I feel like... if I don’t do it now, I’ll never be able to escape it.” Her legs trembled pitifully just like they had six years ago.