Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
Chapter 184 - A Show of Strength
An unexpected one-on-one meeting with my teacher.
The teacher and disciple faced each other, standing a short distance away from the dragon and the strongest human in the East.
“You, you received an Elixir from the messenger from the West, didn't you.”
“Yes. I did. If you want to retrieve it, take it.”
I took out the Elixir that Paras had left behind from my spatial artifact.
The bottle shone with a faint silver light, and inside, an iridescent liquid flowed like water.
It shone on its own, as if the word ‘holiness’ had been crammed into it.
I held out the Elixir, but Ransis refused.
“I'm not here to retrieve it. On the contrary, I'm here to tell you that it has become yours.”
“…The Family Head gave this to me?”
“Yes. And as you also know, this Elixir is─”
“Likely a fake or a trap.”
However, the possibility of it being real could not be ignored. Because just looking at it, it was a real Elixir.
When I held it up to the sunlight and shook it, the silvery liquid sloshed according to my hand gestures.
No matter how I looked at it, it was identical to the Elixir I had seen during my days as a player in the Western faction.
“Did the Family Head not say anything else?”
“He said that with this, you would be able to learn more about Wisdom.”
“The Family Head is convinced it's a fake, then.”
“I am as well. So don't even think about drinking it.”
“When you say it like that, it's human psychology to really want to drink it.”
No matter how hard I stared at the bottle, the system did not activate.
When holding an item of the Elixir's caliber, something should have appeared, but there was no reaction.
“Then drink it and fall right into their trap.”
“I’m not saying I won't, but I need to figure out what the trap is.”
“Do you have any guesses?”
“I should.”
I had a thought while holding the Elixir up to the sun.
“Do you see it? The sunlight shining on the ground, passing through the bottle.”
“Well. The sunlight in the East is so weak, I can’t see anything.”
“That's partly due to the weak Eastern sun, but also because the liquid in this bottle is less pure.”
“Less pure?”
Ransis's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Are you saying this Elixir is an unfinished product?”
That was one of the possibilities, but my thought was a little different.
“The Elixir is a symbol of Wisdom, which symbolizes purity. In other words, the crystallization of purity is the Elixir.”
Then what did it mean for it to be less pure?
The answer was one of two: either it was unfinished, as Ransis said, or something had been added.
“I believe this is a ‘diluted’ Elixir.”
“Diluted? Did they add water or something?”
“That’s right.”
“…What?”
At my calm affirmation, Ransis's eyes widened.
“Adding anything to a completed Elixir will only harm its purity. Furthermore, the Elixir is a renowned medicine recognized by the world.”
For a renowned medicine to be renowned, everything had to be in a golden ratio, and it was bound to be that sensitive.
Knowledge gained from reading reports on decoctions and potions by the Forest Witch told me so.
Pharmacology was a field where a single drop could produce a completely different result from the intended one.
Moreover, for a renowned medicine of the Elixir's level, even a few drops of water were a huge flaw.
I saw through the trap Wisdom had laid.
“This is nothing but a potent poison. It doesn't have any of the effects of an Elixir; it's a potent poison that would rank in the top three in the world.”
“…In the end, it's poison. Not much different, then.”
“The difference is their prediction. Wisdom predicted that this potent poison would fall not into the hands of the Family Head, but into mine, and they were right.”
They had predicted the future, that the Youngest Son with the greatest merit would get the potent poison and drink it someday.
To kill the most flawed Elixir with an impure Elixir.
Ransis let out a smirk.
“This is a gift in another sense, isn't it? If it's a potent poison, isn't it one of the things we can use best?”
“Of course.”
With a smile, I played with the Elixir bottle in my hand.
“I've recently acquired quite a few poison-related Undead Private Soldiers, so I was getting interested in Poison Demon Sorcery anyway.”
“So you’re going to try to learn it?”
“Poison Demon Sorcerers are required to create a dokdan in their bodies, aren't they? And they're free to fill that dokdan with any poison they choose.”
The way my eyes looked at the bottle while saying ‘free to fill it with any poison’ was unusual.
“…Didn't you just say with your own mouth that it's one of the top three poisons in the world?”
“Yes. Since they twisted the effects of the most famous renowned medicine, it will probably be in the top three.”
It was funny that the group that would despise poison the most had created a poison of this level, but it was a welcome thing.
Because the Youngest Son of Millesdusk would embrace even such a potent poison.
“You sound like you don't know what you're talking about. You're not supposed to store strong poison in a dokdan from the start. You have to slowly build up your resistance with weak poisons.”
“I have enough of that resistance.”
There was no need for me to build it up. If I wore Elmont as Skeleton Armor, the resistance would come with it.
In that state, if I rolled around with a stomachache for half a day to a day, my main body's poison resistance would also jump up.
The messenger, who had no way of knowing such things, could only sigh more.
“Your life is yours to protect. Others are already scrambling to shorten it for you, so don't you help them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. By the way, it looks like they’re about to start over there.”
“Bring out the Ghost Ship. It'll be a better view from the sky.”
“I agree.”
Hooking my feet on the anchor of the Ashen Queen, I ascended into the sky.
As soon as I rose higher than the dragon's eye level, I could see the two monsters in a standoff.
.
.
.
The young dragon took the first move.
──!!
A fierce flame, so hot that the heat could be felt even on the Ghost Ship, was sprayed in a fan shape from its wide-open mouth.
At first, it was not Bloodflame but the innate dragon's fire of a Fire Dragon.
The Fire Dragon's fire could melt steel like ice and even melt non-material things like magic circles and curse formulas.
Family Head Kulsian did not move and was directly engulfed in the fierce flame.
I watched the scene with interest from above.
‘Getting to see the power of the Millesdusk Family Head separately is a rare opportunity.’
Unlike outside the monitor, here inside, the senses were alive.
I could feel as I saw, think as I felt, and delve in as I explored.
Family Head Kulsian, knowing this, took the breath apart from his personal interest.
To show his youngest son how a sorcerer survives such a wide-range attack.
“Indeed, a great power.”
A calm voice was heard from the middle of the blazing flames on the plains.
However, it wasn't just the remnants of the flames on the ground.
Golems made of a balanced mix of white bones, thick flesh, and leather were erected like castle walls.
The Meat Golems, which were originally separate entities, were joined together to form a defensive barrier.
The golems that came into contact with the flames were burnt black and crumbled, but their master was not burned.
He had blocked the dragon's flames with three fleshy golems.
“A Meat Golem is just a lump of meat if you mix any old bodies, but if you combine them well for a specific purpose, it's a useful shield in any situation.”
The purpose of those three golems was fire preparation.
However, even if they were tailored for a specific purpose, blocking a breath with just Meat Golems was an insane feat.
Bone Sorcery was not to be underestimated, but his reputation as an unparalleled genius in Beast Sorcery was no empty boast.
“This much doesn't even feel hot. You don't have to hold back, Kairos.”
-…If that’s the case.
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
Hwareureureureuk─
The flame in its mouth changed. From its innate dragon fire, it changed to the Flame Thunder it had gained through pain.
It was a flame with shimmering, bright yellow lightning like a heat haze.
***
The heat emitted by the Fire Dragon spread across the plains and reached the Skeleton Giant Horse.
“…My lord. Just now, to the plains….”
“Father has come. With some monster.”
The First Son, as always, did not stop gripping and swinging his sword, then turned his head in the direction where the heat was felt.
Chief Secretary Luda added.
“We have information from our people in the Pantheon. They said the Fifth Son was seen flying over the Pantheon on a red dragon.”
“I thought as much.”
The First Son stretched his hand into the air.
A Bone Dragon, the size of half the vast training hall, pressed its head against his.
Just as he was getting used to handling the Bone Dragon, a real dragon had appeared.
“Considering the previous incidents, that red dragon must be the Magic Dragon from the Ash Mountains that my youngest brother showed me before.”
“…Did the Fifth Son heal the Magic Dragon?”
“The Youngest's maternal family is the vampire royal family. The Magic Dragon was a Magic Dragon, but it wasn't dead, so it wouldn't be strange if they erased its madness with their techniques.”
“Then how do you plan to proceed?”
The First Son quietly sheathed his sword and climbed onto the Bone Dragon's head.
“Since father has come himself, as a son, I cannot help but go out to meet him. I want to see my youngest brother's face after a long time, too.”
“…Are you still not classifying the Fifth Son as an enemy?”
“Luda. We are still at war with Wisdom.”
The East-West war. At that heavy topic, the Chief Secretary could not continue.
“Father has judged that all our blood relatives must be whole before the East-West war, and he has centered it around the youngest. You must be dissatisfied with that point.”
“……”
Luda couldn't say anything, but since it was true, he bowed his head.
“I don't mind, though you might. If it had been Jamie or my sisters, they would have raised an army. But now, all the blood relatives are quiet.”
It meant they all acknowledged the Youngest and agreed to stand behind him.
Kugugugugugung─
The Bone Dragon raised its body. Though only bones remained, one could never think of it as gaunt.
“This turn of events was unexpected by the Family Head, and by any of the blood relatives. It must be the same for Wisdom. Do you understand what I'm saying?”
“…I understand.”
“Don't worry too much. Just because I've decided to stand behind my youngest brother doesn't mean I'll stay in that position forever.”
Hwoooooooook─
A gray mist swirled around the boney wings of the Bone Dragon, taking the place of a membrane.
“Let’s go. To see my brother.”
Though his father was also there, he was more looking forward to meeting his youngest brother.
He was also quite curious about the sane Magic Dragon, so his father, the Family Head, was gradually pushed down the list.
───!!
With a roar like scraping metal, the Bone Dragon took flight.
Spreading a sinister gray fog in all directions as if death lingered, it flew towards the epicenter of the commotion.
There, there was a Fire Dragon with scales of an even redder hue than expected, and his father.
Observing the scene from a distance in the sky were the messenger and his youngest brother.
“It seems my youngest brother went to father to show off his dragon, so I too must show him my progress.”
The Bone Dragon swam through the clouds as if they were the sea, like a single whale.
Below, the Fire Dragon was spewing lightning-mixed fire and crushing the earth, but the Family Head was still unharmed.
The Fire Dragon's head seemed to have turned a little redder at the sight that was incomprehensible from the outside.
And he was about to add another problem to that head.
Kuuuuuung―
The Bone Dragon landed on the plains.
It was a dragon made of nothing but white bones, but its appearance was more sudden than expected.
It was an innate characteristic of the Bone Dragon.
-…Even if my mind was focused on the battle, I did not notice its approach. You are a kinsman who has met a much worse end than I did as a Magic Dragon.
The Fire Dragon sent a bitter look, and the First Son on the Bone Dragon drew his sword.