Chapter 313 : Chapter 313
Chapter 313. Do Not Get Cocky—Go Now
Splash.
The black abyss.
The scenery of the Demon World, summoned by the Archdemon of Envy, was laid bare.
-Grrrk…
The dragon opened its eyes, feeling its strength return.
His faithful servant had offered his life as a sacrifice.
All to fully resurrect his master, Leviathan.
Crunch.
Another pair of horns sprouted from the dragon’s head.
His back, tail, wings—
sharp scales erupted from every part of his body.
It was a form truly befitting an Archdemon.
Huff.
Standing atop the abyss, he drew in a deep breath.
The air was on a completely different level from before.
Only now did it feel real—his existence in this world.
When he lifted his head, the sky came into view.
It was dyed pitch-black by the demonic energy he exuded.
This overflowing power.
This maddening sense of liberation!
Once more, the world would be stained with despair.
He opened his mouth to finally speak the true name he had been unable to utter until now.
-All things in this world, tremble in fear.
Wooooong.
Just by Leviathan opening his mouth, demonic energy reverberated through the air.
-I am the Archdemon Leviathan.
The moment he spoke his name, the earth shook and the wind howled.
The abyss covering the ground surged, waves rising and crashing.
From the center of that abyss, Leviathan roared.
-I have come to become your true master!
Kuuuuung!
Thunder roared, and lightning flashed.
Between the flashes of light,
a small human stood facing him.
Leviathan looked down at Professor Lillian, swaying on her feet, her Magic Power exhausted.
-Foolish human.
The fly-like mage who had annoyed him until now.
Like a moth throwing itself into a flame, she stood before Leviathan, knowing she would soon die.
-Pitiful human.
Leviathan snickered as he looked down at her.
He was the Archdemon of Envy.
Piercing through the darkness within her was effortless.
-How empty. A broken thing that feels emotions only in battle.
Krrrrrumble!
Flash.
Lightning struck again, illuminating Professor Lillian’s face.
There was no expression on it at all.
As though every smile she had worn until now had been false.
-What meaning could life possibly hold for you?
Leviathan chuckled.
-I shall grant you the mercy of death.
He was well aware that she was barely standing.
Her bearing was admirable, but her death was inevitable.
Even if she tried to flee, within this abyss she was in the palm of his hand.
The dragon raised his arm and brought it down upon Lillian’s head.
Crunch!
The sound of something shattering rang out.
-…What?
But it was not Lillian who shattered.
A young woman had blocked the descending foreleg with her bare hands.
Crunch.
The Third Princess of the Empire.
Shartea Kudente Cretian.
Her Ability, Power of the Colossus, was being unleashed in full.
***
A few minutes earlier.
Even amid the chaos summoned by Leviathan, people were running across the abyss.
Alexius, a greatsword strapped to his back, shouted,
“The demonic energy is growing stronger! Stay alert!”
It was the demonic energy of an Archdemon.
An ordinary human would grow dizzy, then lose their sanity over time.
Naturally, Radel did not panic.
He had people who could wield curses and Divine Power alike.
“Brother Gillian!”
He called out loudly.
“Brother, a barrier!”
“Ghk!”
Gillian, his face pale from running, squeezed out every last bit of strength to form a hand seal.
There was no energy left to spare, but there was nowhere to retreat.
With an Archdemon summoned, where could they possibly flee?
He shut his eyes tightly and shouted,
“O Supreme Deity, please protect us!”
Flash!
The moment Gillian erected the barrier with Divine Power, the undulating ground rose into waves and crashed toward them.
Splash!
Even then, Radel did not panic.
Fortunately, another capable mage was standing by.
He called out to the prepared talent.
“Leon! Magic!”
“Tsk!”
Leon clenched his teeth.
He had intended to use it anyway, but now it felt as though he was doing it because Radel ordered him to.
Irritation laced his movements as he swung his staff.
“Calm yourselves!”
Astonishingly, the waves settled in response to Leon’s spell.
‘The Magic Power blended naturally.’
Arteo’s eyes widened as he watched Leon’s magic.
Intervening in a dragon’s Magic Power without hesitation and altering its nature—
So this was ‘Dragon’s Blessing’…
Now he understood why the Eighth Prince had called for the Ninth Prince even in such a dire situation.
‘How far ahead had he been thinking?’
Arteo swallowed a groan as he looked at Radel.
The group ran across the now-calm abyss and reached the dragon.
They spotted Professor Lillian, standing precariously.
Radel knew she had deliberately stayed behind to buy time until others arrived.
The dragon was bringing down its massive foot upon her.
“Professor!”
Before Radel could move, Shartea sprang forward.
One step, then another.
Shartea planted her feet.
With her final step, she raised her right hand and blocked above Lillian’s head.
Crunch!
Strength beyond what could be believed of a human.
Power of the Colossus manifested at Shartea’s fingertips.
Crack.
The dragon’s sole bore down with crushing force.
Without stopping, Shartea raised her other hand and drove her fist forward.
KABOOM!
The dragon’s foreleg burst apart.
Alexius laughed at the absurd strength.
“Yes, that is my Thea!”
Schwing.
Without hesitation, he drew his greatsword.
“My turn, then.”
Then he spoke to Radel.
“Watch closely. Magic is not the only thing you must see to understand.”
Radel’s eyes shone as he grasped the meaning of those words.
This seasoned swordsman was giving him an opportunity.
An opportunity to witness his swordsmanship firsthand.
When Radel nodded, Alexius grinned and charged forward—
together with his granddaughter.
“Theo, cover me!”
“Yes, Grandfather. I will use attack magic to draw the dragon’s attention.”
“No. Cast your magic on me. That will be better.”
Arteo froze for a moment.
What Alexius was asking for was magic to support a swordsman.
He had cast countless spells, but this style of combat was new to him.
As someone trained in the Royal Mage Corps, Arteo had always used mage-centric magic.
Had it not been his maternal grandfather, he would never have attempted it.
Still, he soon prepared his spell in sync with Alexius’s signal.
“Wind.”
The moment Arteo’s spell concluded, Alexius felt his body grow lighter.
He leapt as though flying and lowered his stance before the dragon’s left leg.
The muscles of the arm gripping the greatsword bulged.
All of his momentum flowed into the blade.
“There is a path within the sword.”
He murmured and swung his blade sideways.
KUUUURAAANG!
‘Kudente Swordsmanship!’
Radel could not tear his eyes away from the veteran’s blade.
Hundreds of thousands—millions—of swings.
A sword Alexius had wielded countless times.
It looked simple, yet it was not.
It seemed heavy, yet it was not.
Sharpness hid within bluntness.
And within that, a simplicity stripped of all excess.
‘So this is the sword of the Marquis of Kudente.’
To Radel, the swordsmanship carried another meaning.
The final advancement requirement of Imperial Swordsmanship.
The Path of the Sword, whose clue he had yet to grasp.
Today, he was seeing the swords of those who had solved that answer—twice.
Senior Shartea’s Unique Magic, and Alexius’s Kudente Swordsmanship.
‘So that is it. The Path of the Sword is—!’
Just as something dawned on Radel, Leviathan’s roar shook heaven and earth.
-You wretched insects!
“Urgh!”
Crack!
Gillian’s barrier shattered under the roar.
Unable to withstand the shock, Gillian collapsed to the ground.
“Ghk!”
“Cough!”
The others fared no better.
Leviathan, now a dragon, was manipulating not only demonic energy but even the surrounding Magic Power at will.
Regenerating his foreleg and legs, Leviathan glared at them in irritation.
It was tiresome.
He wanted to stop this nuisance and enjoy the Middle Realm.
For that, a single phrase would suffice.
The dragon opened his mouth.
-Be crushed, all of you.
Dragon Speech.
The great magic said to have vanished from the world was invoked.
A power said to be closest to divine authority.
A magic rumored to steal life merely through a dragon speaking with intent.
There was nothing that could stop it.
Unless one were another dragon—
and there were no dragons left in this world.
Leviathan felt euphoria surge within him.
‘To think that only I can wield this power!’
When would a demon ever have the chance to use a dragon’s power?
True, using Dragon Speech drained a tremendous amount of Magic Power from his heart in an instant.
It did not matter.
All life upon the land was being crushed.
Grass, trees, crawling, walking, flying things—everything!
Soon, those insect-like humans would be reduced to mere puddles of blood.
As he snickered at the thought, something that should not have happened occurred.
***
It happened in an instant.
“Return.”
As the dragon’s Dragon Speech activated, someone spoke.
Then something utterly unexpected occurred.
The Magic Power surging with the intent to crush everything began to lose strength.
“Ghk!”
“Hngh!”
“Ugh…!”
Crushed by Magic Power and fading from consciousness, Arteo suddenly gasped as air rushed into his lungs.
“Hah, huff!”
What had just happened?
Dragon Speech was the strongest magic a dragon could use.
The only thing that could block it should have been another dragon—
“!”
Only then did Arteo realize who had spoken a spell against Dragon Speech.
Leon Silvert Cretian.
The one who possessed ‘Dragon’s Blessing’ had opposed the dragon’s magic.
‘Impossible. Even if he has power close to a dragon, this is—!’
It should not have been possible.
He murmured blankly,
“No matter how strong his Ability is, how can a human…?”
At that moment, Arteo recalled Radel pointing at Leon and saying,
‘He is our hope.’
Arteo’s gaze shifted to Radel.
Radel, wiping the blood from his nose, noticed the look and smiled faintly.
A smile as though he had expected this all along.
Even so, for Leon, interfering with the dragon’s Magic Power to this extent was no easy task.
Radel hurried over to Leon, who was sweating coldly.
“Leon, at least take a Magic Power recovery potion—”
“Go.”
Leon moved his lips.
“I cannot hold it for long. Finish it before then.”
Radel looked startled.
Then, with eyes brimming with emotion, he spoke.
“Leon, you… you trust me?”
“Do not get cocky. Go now, before I really kill you.”
Killing intent sharp as a blade spilled from Leon.
“Yeah, of course. I am going.”
Radel thought it was urgent to move at once.
It was absolutely not because Leon was frightening.
-Kieeeek!
The griffin, which had been waiting for Radel’s signal in the sky, dove down like an arrow.
Radel leapt onto its back.
From here on out, it would be an aerial battle.