Chapter 315: Faded Promise (7)

Sticky blood sprayed into the air.

Splash!

Roaring battle cries mixed with sharp screams. Weapons clashed, and the thick stench of blood spread across the battlefield like fog.

“

Kugh!

”

“You crazy witch!”

Thirty demonkin charged toward the main force led by Isabella. Their eyes had gleamed with joy at the thought of slaughter, but that joy quickly turned into despair. The one who brought that despair was the platinum-haired woman leading the dragonkin.

A whirlwind of crimson flower petals danced around her as she swung her massive scythe and savagely tore through the demonic beasts. This so-called witch was so terrifying, even the infamously brutal demonkin felt overwhelmed.

Metallic echoes rang out.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Bloody petals and black flames entwined in the air.

“

Argh!

”

“Kill her! Kill that witch!”

The demonkin surrounded Isabella and launched a ferocious assault.

Boppy, charging at full speed, abruptly turned at a right angle to dodge the attack.

“No matter how hard you try, this pathetic kingdom of slaves is already ruined!”

Like a knight on top of a horse, Isabella rode Boppy and fiercely clashed against the thirty demonkin.

Initially, she had overwhelmed them and instantly cut down five. As time passed, the battle began to stall. Even after taking out five, over twenty-five of them remained.

On top of that, each demonkin possessed power equivalent to a high-ranking Awakener. The fact that the fight had merely slowed rather than ended spoke volumes about Isabella’s monstrous strength.

“

Hm?

Is that so?” Isabella deeply smiled and glanced back at the slaves they spoke of. “I don’t think they feel the same way.”

“What are you—?”

Fwoosh!

A wave of fiery mana arrows shot toward the demonkin. The arrows rained down like a storm and exploded on impact, kicking up clouds of dust.

“

Ugh...

Those damn slave bastards!”

The demonkin who were struck bared their teeth at the dragonkin.

“Oh my, you shouldn’t get distracted.”

“

H-Hic!

”

Isabella suddenly appeared from behind them like a scene from a horror movie. A chilling aura radiated from her crimson scythe that brushed against their neck.

The demonkin gasped, their mouths opening and closing like suffocating fish.

“P-Please spare—”

Slash!

A gush of hot blood splattered out like a fountain from their split neck.

Isabella wiped off the blood on her cheek with her fingers and licked it, causing her to frown.

“It tastes like flat beer.

Ptooey

.” She spat out the blood in disgust, then tossed the demonkin’s head to the ground like trash.

“You wretched bitch!”

“Oh my, so demonkin can feel anger over a comrade’s death?” Isabella’s eyes gleamed with amusement at their reaction.

Her blatant mockery made the demonkin writhe in fury.

One of them glanced back with murderous intent. “How long do you think you can keep up that smug attitude?”

More demonkin reinforcements gathered in the distance, drawn by the chaos that Vega and Riarc had stirred. Just thirty of them had already been overwhelming. The odds would be hopeless if their split forces regrouped.

“You’re right.” Isabella faintly smiled as she looked at the incoming demonkin and their demonic beast horde. “Then, let’s give up.”

She tapped Boppy’s neck a few times. Without hesitation, it turned and bolted. The dragonkin warriors followed suit, turning their backs and fleeing from the ruined kingdom.

“After them!”

“Do you think you can run away?!”

The demonkin charged after Isabella and the retreating dragonkin.

As the chaos reached its peak, Kwon Oh-Jin glanced at Song Ha-Eun and Kellion.

Now

.

With the demonkin’s attention fixed on Isabella and the dragonkin, the three of them dashed off toward the Dragon God's lair.

“This way!” Kellion, who knew the kingdom best, took the lead.

The decoy plan seemed to work. Aside from a few stray demonic beasts, the path ahead looked clear.

After running nonstop for around twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the edge of the kingdom, where a massive rock wall blocked their path.

“Is this the lair?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a giant boulder.

“I told you, didn’t I? You wouldn’t know it by just looking.”

As Kelion said, it didn’t look anything like the entrance to a Dragon God's lair.

“I’ll disable the barrier right—”

“Wait.” Kwon Oh-Jin stopped Kellion just as he tried to move toward the rock wall.

Kneeling on one knee, Kwon Oh-Jin placed his hand on the ground and examined the area.

“Someone was here. Recently.”

It wasn’t just one or two people. The signs showed that a large group had just been here.

“Are you saying the demonkin found the entrance to the lair?” Kellion asked, flustered.

“Yes, but it seems they couldn’t break the barrier.”

They had probably left, drawn away by the chaos that Isabella had caused. The fact that so many had been here meant only one thing.

They’re after the Dragon God’s lair too.

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes. “We need to hurry.”

“I’ll disable the barrier immediately.” Kellion stepped up to the rock wall and struck the ground with his staff.

A wide array of mana flared out, rumbling the earth. The massive rock wall split open on both sides, revealing a wide entrance into a cave shrouded in darkness like a dragon’s gaping maw.

“Let’s go, Ha-Eun.”

“Y-Yeah.” Song Ha-Eun, momentarily stunned by the overwhelming scale of it all, nodded and followed.

She summoned a flame that lit up the lair’s dark interior.

Whoosh!

Song Ha-Eun looked around in awe like a country girl seeing the city for the first time. “W-Wow, this place is massive.”

“Which way do we go?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“This way.” Fortunately, Kellion seemed to know the lair’s layout and took the lead.

The path wasn’t complicated. Following a spiral trail downward, they eventually arrived at a vast chamber.

“The Dragon God, Kaleios.”

A dragon nearly a hundred meters tall stood at the center. Red scales, like crystallized flame, coated its body. Six horns curved out from its forehead. It looked less like a living being and more like an ancient structure.

From the Dragon God’s nostrils, bursts of flame periodically escaped.

No wonder they call it a god.

Even while asleep, its sheer presence felt overwhelming. Each step closer to the dragon made it feel like something was pressing down on Kwon Oh-Jin’s chest.

For some reason, something felt off.

What is this feeling?

Like a puzzle piece out of place, an inexplicable sense of unease crept up on him.

Upon seeing the slumbering deity, Kellion dropped to his knees and bowed deeply. “Oh, great Dragon God, please awaken from your deep slumber and save us.”

He trembled with desperation.

Kwon Oh-Jin stepped beside him and asked, “Where is the Soulstone?”

“

Ah

, r-right...” Kellion quickly got up and pointed to a massive crimson crystal embedded in the wall of the chamber.

Hot flames swirled inside the red crystal.

“That’s the Soulstone housing the Dragon God’s spirit.”

“This thing?” Song Ha-Eun slowly walked toward it.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“That’s right.”

Even from a distance, she could feel the crystal’s searing heat prickling her skin.

“So, what do I do now?”

“Use your Draconic Eye and guide the Dragon God’s soul from the Soulstone into its body.”

“You say that, but I have no idea how to do that.” Song Ha-Eun cocked her head and removed her eye patch.

At that moment, a sharp pain flared in her eye.

“

Ugh.

”

Her Draconic Eye, focused on the crimson crystal, began to burn up.

“Are you okay, Ha-Eun?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” Waving Kwon Oh-Jin off, she turned back toward the Soulstone. “

Ah

...”

She could feel the massive power dwelling within the crystal.

This... is the Dragon God’s soul?

Song Ha-Eun furrowed her brow and stepped closer. Gently reaching out, she brushed her fingers along its surface. Flames spilled out from the crystal, wrapping around her hand.

Standing still, Song Ha-Eun cocked her head and simply stared at the fire coiling around her palm.

“What is it?”

“

Hm? Oh...

I just thought, since they said the Dragon God’s soul was sealed in here, I’d feel... I don’t know, some kind of will? Or intent or something.” Song Ha-Eun slowly looked up and down at the flames inside the red crystal. “But I don’t really feel anything like that. It just feels like a big lump of power?”

“Like the dragon heart you absorbed before?”

“

Ah

, yeah! That’s exactly it!”

Of course, the power contained in this crystal was far greater than the dragon heart she had absorbed back then.

“The Dragon God hasn’t regained consciousness yet after such a long slumber.” Kelion stepped closer.

“Well, I’ll try moving it anyway. You should all stand back for a bit.”

“You think you can move it?”

“Yeah. Once I touched it, I sort of got a feel for how to handle it.”

The power of the Draconic Eye allowed her to freely control dragon mana. Once she removed her eye patch and got closer, she instinctively understood how to manipulate the mana inside the red crystal.

“A-As expected! Lord Caelus’s prophecy was true!” Kellion’s eyes welled up in awe.

The prophecy that a woman with a Draconic Eye would appear and save the dragonkin had come true.

“Alright, I’ll start now.” Song Ha-Eun placed her hand on the crystal and closed her eyes.

Flames slowly enveloped her. Just as the ritual to awaken the Dragon God began, a powerful tremor rocked the chamber.

Boom!

Footsteps echoed as someone approached fast.

“Have they caught on already?” Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue at the sound.

The demonkin weren’t stupid. They probably realized that Isabella and the dragonkin were just a decoy to draw their attention. Once no rescue attempt was made for the captured dragonkin, and no grand final battle followed, it was only a matter of time before they figured it out.

“P-Please, awaken!” Kellion’s face grew tense with urgency.

He desperately looked at the slumbering Dragon God, but his pleading went unheard as the Dragon God’s eyes remained firmly shut with no signs of opening.

Do we need more time?

Of course, transferring such a massive amount of mana would take longer than waiting for a cup of instant noodles.

“I’ll buy us some time for now.” Kwon Oh-Jin took out Dantalian from his waist and headed toward the chamber entrance.