Chapter 196

Stifling heat rushed in, and warning messages ensued. Something told Suho that something far beyond the limits of any human to handle was before him.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[Antares is watching you.]

[Antares opposes you.]

[Antares is...]

[In the current location, the use of potions and the shop is unavailable, and even with level-ups, status recovery will not occur.]

The succession of system messages almost felt desperate. The danger had come upon Suho without warning.

I didn’t think this would be easy, but...

Suho gritted his teeth and glared at the vast, mountainous figure that filled his vision. If boiling lava were to be given life and sculpted into a dragon, perhaps it would look something like this. This towering dragon, endlessly burning, was the true form of Antares, the King of Dragons.

“You seem to have no fear. You are the son of the man who humiliated me. How dare you come to me of your own accord?”

The dragon’s voice was no more than a low mutter, but Suho felt as though a powerful presence was threatening to crush him flat.

Antares had been the true enemy of Suho’s father, the one Monarch who had fought Jinwoo for the longest among all the others. As might be expected, he was showcasing an amount of power that seemed to make the other Monarchs who Suho had faced pale in comparison.

[Antares activated the skill: “Breath of Destruction.”]

A cascade of red flame lashed out at Suho like a whip.

Ruler’s Authority!

Suho flew upward at top speed, avoiding the attack.

These flames would eradicate anything they touched. A chilling white light passed over Suho’s head, nearly grazing him. At the same time, the Vulcan’s Horns appeared in his hands.

[Skill: “Storm Slash” has activated.]

A storm of swords struck the body of the dragon.

“It is no use! Did you think swords made out of a mere demon’s horns would hurt my body?” The King of Dragons laughed at Suho as the dragon opened his maw, roaring at him.

[Antares activated the skill: “Dragon’s Fear.”]

The invisible energy shot out by the King of Dragons filled Suho with an indescribable fear. The earth rumbled, and the sky shook. But in truth, it was Suho who was trembling the most.

[“Debuff: Fear” has been activated.]

[All stats are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]

Ugh!

Suho winced.

It was overwhelming power. There was no other way to describe it. Suho witnessed his hands, holding the Vulcan’s Horns, shaking madly. The sensation of being overpowered was far stronger than when he had faced Querehsha.

But

so what?

he thought. This Monarch had already been defeated by his father. Being frightened by such a being and backing off now would be an affront to Jinwoo’s reputation.

I’m going to withstand it.

Suho gritted his quivering teeth and bared them in a forced smile.

Overcoming the terror induced by Dragon’s Fear with effort, he thought a message to the Monarchs.

“Are all of you seeing this?”

There were beings who responded to him.

[Rakan is watching you.]

[Querehsha is watching you.]

[Sillad is watching you.]

The other Monarchs who had given him their blessing were looking upon him.

“Oh?”

It wasn’t only Suho who felt this. Antares raised his eyebrows, amused.

Meanwhile, silver particles flew around Suho, and the apparitions of the dead Monarchs appeared. The dragon grinned as he noticed the Monarchs looking at him. “How did you manage to win them over, I wonder?”

“I am... their shaman,”

Suho replied as he was surrounded by the blessings of the dead Monarchs.

“Their shaman?”

“Yes.

Won’t you need a descendant who will inherit your power, too?”

“A descendant?” The King of Dragons laughed as if the idea was absurd. “You don’t mean that idiotic creature you hatched, do you?”

“Idiotic?”

This was odd. Antares was sincerely laughing at his suggestion.

“I do find it impressive that a human managed to hatch one of Kamish’s eggs. However...”

However?

Suho thought to himself.

“Did you really think a vermin who has become somebody’s pet would have the right to inherit the power of the King of Dragons?”

Suho’s eyes widened in shock.

It seemed that Antares already knew everything, including that Kamish’s hatchling, which had been born thanks to Suho, had become his pet. This fact was making the Monarch even angrier. He also felt immense humiliation that the baby dragon had been weak enough to turn into a human’s pet the moment it had hatched.

Antares’ injured pride expressed itself as a vast wave of flame that attacked Suho. “Child of the shadow! You will burn here for all eternity!” he thundered.

At that moment, the entire world seemed to turn into boiling lava that swallowed Suho whole. This was Antares’ turf. If he wanted, he could fill all of it with lava.

Gah!

There was no way for Suho to avoid the flames. All he could do was writhe amid the horrible heat and scream.

The Monarchs quickly provided Suho with blessings to protect him.

[The spiritual body of “Pet: Gray” has bound to the Shaman.]

Suho’s hair turned silver, a sacred wind enveloping his body.

[Skill: “Blistering Blizzard” has been activated.]

The Monarch of Frost used a blizzard to fight Antares’ flames.

[Querehsha uses “Debuff: Paralysis Poison” to reduce your pain.]

Querehsha also tried to help him in her own way. Suho was their shaman, after all, and they had to stop him from burning to death.

“Begone, you shameless fools!” Antares roared, and all the blessings were instantly burned away. His anger was directed not only at Suho, but also at the Monarchs beside him. “You are Monarchs, and yet you have chosen subjugation. You have no right to be called Monarchs!”

Antares’ flames deflected the Meadow Wind as well as the Frigid Storm. The apparitions of the Monarchs were also sent scattering.

Ugh...!

With all help gone, Suho was left completely defenseless amid the hellish flames. His Pain Tolerance skill, which only increased physical defense, was no use now. His HP was plummeting. He was even restricted from using potions, which further increased the hopelessness of the situation.

But something had changed. Despite being buried in the flames, Suho was no longer screaming.

“Huh?” Antares muttered, watching with interest.

Suho was walking forward step-by-step over the flames, slowly approaching Antares. The pain was still there, of course. His body was so hot that he felt his heart might stop at any moment.

“Oh, well. Change of plans.”

With an immensely obstinate look on his face, Suho gritted his teeth and repressed the screaming that threatened to escape his lips. He raised his fist in the air.

“I will kill you before you kill me.”

“Ha!” Antares laughed incredulously. It was absurd.

[Skill: “Giant’s Armor” has activated.]

[Skill: “Iron Body Technique” has activated.]

Dark energy filled Suho’s body, his size growing slowly. He lashed out with his fist, and Antares’ huge body swayed.

Confusion filled the dragon’s eyes for the first time, but this only lasted a moment. He laughed again, seemingly truly enjoying himself.

“Haha... Hahahaha!”

It seemed that Antares was able to maintain both his human form and true dragon form simultaneously, as his human form rode on his dragon self.

The human Antares put his hand on his forehead and laughed maniacally for some time. It was as though his voice carried mana, since the laughter made Suho’s heart ring.

When the man stopped laughing, he looked down at Suho with an arrogant smile, the vertical slits of his pupils glinting ominously.

“How amusing.”

Antares had the look of someone who had discovered an entertaining toy for the first time in a while.

“Go on. I could use more entertainment.”

The massive dragon opened its maw to swallow up the little toy, and Suho disappeared within his jaws.

Ugh...

Suho managed to stay alive, resisting the crushing force with his arms and legs from inside the mouth. He managed to break one of the fangs with brute strength.

“Argh! You insect! How dare you—”

“Insect, huh?”

Suho grinned as if he found the wording rather satisfying.

“Why don’t you call me a poisonous insect while you’re at it?”

Suho stabbed down violently with the fang, and the various poisons imbued in the attack exploded outward at once.

[“Debuff: Paralysis Poison” has activated.]

[“Debuff: Kasaka’s Venom” has activated.]

[...]

“Don’t you dare!” Antares bellowed.

Suho had a nasty smile on his face as he swung multiple times at the roof of the dragon’s mouth.

[Antares activated the skill: “Breath of Destruction.”]

Violent flames bubbled up from the dragon’s throat. Not only did this instantly burn away Suho’s poisons, it also scorched and blackened his body.

“I’m

not dead yet!”

Antares was taken aback.

Despite the torment, Suho managed to break another fang. Wielding that fang, he chose to jump into the dragon’s throat instead of trying to avoid the Breath of Destruction. He shoved it into the flames, and Antares’ breath attack exploded midway.

“Aaargh!”

The dragon shuddered, shaking his head violently. The shock of Breath of Destruction detonating inside his body was unimaginable.

Suho did not stop there. He slammed the fang into Antares’ flesh like it was a nail.

Soon a hole was cut through the dragon’s throat. Suho tore it wide open, and the neck split apart like a sword had cut it. Dragon blood spouted out like a fountain.

“Gaaaahr!”

Antares’ scream was extremely satisfying to hear as it echoed through the sky.

Suho knew, however, that this would not be enough to defeat the dragon. He was at his limit. His HP was running out, and his mind was fading, like he might pass out at any moment.

But at this critical moment, an idea came to him.

“Antares!

I have a different suggestion.”

The dragon continued to roar.

“Becoming a shaman doesn’t matter to me anymore,”

Suho continued, not stopping to check if the Monarch was listening.

“I will become your successor.”

“What...?” Antares stopped short despite the rage and miserable pain. He doubted his ears.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“You say Ragna has no right to become the Monarch of Destruction because he is my pet.

What about me, then?

Your title is the ‘King of Dragons.’

Well, I own a dragon myself.”

Antares was stunned.

Suho had just witnessed exactly how powerful this Monarch was. How could he not desire such power?

“I will become the Monarch of Destruction,”

he declared.