Chapter 257: The Thousand Curses Dragon (9)

Barbatos felt dawn soon arriving. Pitch-black clouds had covered the night sky. Beyond the starless darkness, a crimson sun began to rise and illuminated the shadows.

“Die, you lizard bastard.”

Clutching flames that burned like the sun itself, Song Ha-Eun leaped high into the air. Drawing her fist all the way back, she swung it like a fired cannonball.

“

Guh!

” Barbatos grimaced and locked eyes with Song Ha-Eun as she charged right up to his face. He hadn’t expected her to break through the veil of curses so easily.

As long as I have his blessing, something like this is—!

He focused on the horns jutting from his forehead. From within, he could feel a great power.

“

Huh?

”

Nothing came. Just like a phone suddenly out of service, the connection with his master had abruptly been cut off.

“W-What’s going on?” Barbatos looked at the sky in disbelief.

Had it become night already? As he stared at the darkening sky, a shiver ran down his spine.

“

Haaaaa!

” With a fierce battle cry, Song Ha-Eun’s flaming fist smashed into Barbatos’s jaw with a brutal uppercut.

Fwoosh!

“

Kugh!

”

“God, your breath actually smells like a sewer.” Song Ha-Eun scowled as she glared at Barbatos writhing in agony.

The stench made her nauseous, but she wouldn’t let this chance slip by. She aimed her fist toward the dragon’s gaping mouth.

“Let’s see. What should I name this move? Ah, this sounds perfect.”

To properly visualize the technique, it needed a name that captured its essence. After a brief thought, she gave birth to a new technique.

“Radiance of Ten Dragons.”

She launched the ten fire dragons condensed in her fist straight into Barbatos’s open mouth. Even if thick scales covered him on the outside, he didn’t have tough flesh on the inside. The ten fire dragons swam down his throat and exploded violently from within.

“

Kraaaaaagh!

” With a terrible scream, Barbatos collapsed to the ground.

Thud!

Thick black smoke billowed from his open mouth.

“

Haa, haa.

” Landing on the ground, Song Ha-Eun lay down in exhaustion and panted heavily. “God, I feel like I’m dying.”

She flopped down on her back like a starfish. Her head spun from using too much mana at once.

While she lay there, Kwon Oh-Jin approached her. “Good work, Ha-Eun.”

He grabbed her hand and helped her up.

“

Hehe

. Did you see that?! I told you I could handle it by myself!”

“Yeah.”

“Oh! And guess what? I became a ten-star. Look!” Song Ha-Eun grinned brightly and tugged down her turtleneck.

Beneath her black bra was her pale, ample breast. It wasn’t quite on Isabella’s level, but Song Ha-Eun’s was still more than a handful.

Kwon Oh-Jin recoiled in shock and quickly pulled her shirt back up. “What the hell, Ha-Eun?! We’re in public!”

Instead of the tenth stroke next to her Stigma, his eyes kept drifting toward the tiny mole nestled in her cleavage. He fought back the overwhelming urge to press it with his fingertip. They were lovers, after all. There was nothing he hadn’t already seen or done. Still, with Vega and Isabella watching nearby, he couldn’t just do something insane like that.

“Oh, please. You’ve groped me like you were kneading dough before. Why are you acting all shy now?”

Does this woman even know what shame is?

“Can you please just wear your clothes properly?”

“

Hehe

. Don’t worry. You can always check it later with your hands instead of your eyes. I’m not just talking about my Stigma.”

Had she noticed him staring at her mole? Song Ha-Eun winked with a teasing smirk. She was in a better mood than usual, likely from defeating Barbatos and overcoming her trauma.

Kwon Oh-Jin squinted at Barbatos on the ground.

Sure, Song Ha-Eun had powered up immensely after reaching ten stars.

Still, this was way too easy.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Kwon Oh-Jin recalled when she burst through the curse and leaped toward Barbatos. The dragon’s movements had halted briefly, and his head jerked around in confusion.

“

Ghh.. Kugh!

” Barbatos coughed harshly as black smoke poured out from his mouth.

Song Ha-Eun frowned and summoned another flame. “Wait, what? That bastard is still alive?”

Kwon Oh-Jin gently grabbed her shoulder and stepped toward Barbatos. “Hold on, Ha-Eun.”

He needed to confirm something first before finishing him off.

“W-Why... why have you... forsaken me?” Barbatos muttered in despair.

Forsaken?

Only one being could possibly abandon him in this situation, the master Barbatos kept referring to.

Kwon Oh-Jin glanced at Barbatos’s forehead. The dark horns that once protruded had vanished without a trace.

Is that why he froze earlier?

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes and calmly asked, “Barbatos, who exactly is this master you serve?”

“

A-ah... ugh...

” Barbatos didn’t answer. He simply trembled in fear.

Kwon Oh-Jin gently placed his hand on top of Barbatos’s head. One needed a great amount of skill to reach someone spiraling into full-blown panic.

“Azure Lightning.”

“

Graaaaagh!

”

Crackle!

Arcs of blue lightning spread out like a fan and shocked Barbatos. He convulsed violently, twitching and spasming on the ground.

“There’s no need to be afraid, Barbatos. It’s okay. Everything’s... okay now,” Kwon Oh-Jin gently said.

In any interrogation, the key was to bring the target out of panic and into focus. Empathy and understanding were the essence of true persuasion.

“

Kuugh!

S-Stop! Stooooop!”

Had Kwon Oh-Jin’s sincerity finally reached him? Barbatos’s once-vacant gaze slowly focused on him.

I knew it. There’s nothing more powerful than a single, heartfelt word.

“You’re finally looking at me.” Kwon Oh-Jin softly stroked Barbatos’s head, who was foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back.

Kwon Oh-Jin gently brushed over the dragon’s scales, which had returned to their original purple hue. Maybe the touch tickled? Each time Kwon Oh-Jin’s hand brushed over him, Barbatos jerked violently in a convulsive spasm.

“I-I’ll tell you! I’ll talk! So please...!”

“There’s no need to force yourself. If you don’t want to talk, that’s okay too.” Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head with a concerned expression.

Just looking at his face, Barbatos felt terrified of whatever being had granted him power. An answer couldn’t be forced from him like this.

“The Heavenly Demon! The one who granted me his blessing was the Heavenly Demon!”

“What?” Kwon Oh-Jin’s hand froze while stroking his head.

The Heavenly Demon?

“When exactly did you receive his blessing?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“I-It wasn’t long ago.”

“Exactly when?”

“Maybe about a month ago? He found me when I was hiding in my lair, deep in hibernation.”

The timing matched when the Named monsters began reappearing.

For a moment, Kwon Oh-Jin wondered if this was Cassia’s doing. However, she was currently in South America and following his orders to deal with the Musca faction. She wouldn’t have bestowed power upon Barbatos out of the blue.

Which means...

If this wasn’t her doing, only one explanation existed.

The real Heavenly Demon has started to move?

Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression hardened.

***

Deep in the humid tropical jungles of South America, a man wearing thin glasses frantically ran down a forest path while clutching his bleeding chest.

“

Ugh!

”

He couldn’t go far before collapsing to the ground due to his severe injuries.

“

Haa, haa!

” Leaning against a tree, he gasped for breath.

A chilling sound like a slithering snake approached from the path behind him.

Rustle.

“Have you given up already?”

A woman in a jet-black dress appeared. She looked young with a slender frame, but her gentle smile held an allure far too mature to be described as youthful.

The man faintly smiled self-deprecatingly and nodded. “Yes. I suppose this is as far as I go.” With resigned eyes, he looked up at Cassia. “May I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did you attack us?”

“

Hmm

.” Cassia stuck out her tongue like a snake and licked her lips. “The Heavenly Demon said the buzzing of flies was getting annoying.”

“

Ha

...” A dry laugh escaped the man’s lips.

Just because of a silly reason like that, everything they had built until now had been instantly destroyed.

He chuckled bitterly and leaned back against the tree. “So that’s all my life amounts to, huh? Just a pesky fly to be swatted away. To you, I’m really nothing more than that.”

Cassia looked down at the man wearing glasses. “Do you want to live, Adel?”

Kwon Oh-Jin had ordered her to eliminate him, but if he pledged loyalty to the Heavenly Demon, she was willing to let him live for now.

“

Haha

. Do I want to live, huh...?” Adel scoffed and lightly touched the pendant around his neck, which carried the photo of a woman.

He gazed down at it for a long moment before slowly raising his head.

“It’s not a matter of wanting to live...” The Stigma of Musca on his chest glowed with a black light. “I have to live. No matter what.”

Rustle, rustle!

The bushes around them shook, followed by beastly shrieks.

“

Gwaaaa!

”

Rotting corpses that brought a sickening stench of decay with them burst through the dense bushes.

“For someone who wants to live, you sure don’t look like it.” Cassia looked at the incoming horde of corpses with a bored look. “Just another fly to be crushed—”

Her Stigma of Serpens glowed ominously, and she casually raised her hand toward the mass of corpses to wipe them out.

Rumble.

A jagged black rift split the sky. Dark clouds spilled forth and blotted out the sun. In mere moments, day turned into night.

“This is...?”

Both Cassia and Adel looked up in shock at the dark clouds that suddenly appeared.

The clouds twisted and churned, constantly changing shape. They burned like fire, appearing and vanishing.

From within that ever-shifting darkness, a deep voice echoed out. “It’s been a while.”

The cloud moved past Adel, ignoring him completely, and drifted toward Cassia.

“The Heavenly Demon?” Adel muttered and stared up at the cloud in disbelief.

The dark cloud bobbed up and down as if nodding. “That’s right.”

Cassia narrowed her eyes and inspected the dark mass carefully. “You’re claiming to be the Heavenly Demon?”

She meticulously looked at the cloud, unconvinced, like she was appraising a forged piece of art.

“Liar,” she said.

The unconvincing attempt at mimicking the real thing couldn’t fool her.

“You’re not the Heavenly Demon.”

The vertical slits in Cassia’s eyes gleamed with killing intent like a serpent’s. With a snap of her fingers, a serpent burst out from her shadow and lunged straight toward the black cloud.

A surprised voice came from the cloud. “What...?”