Chapter 136 136: War (6)
[ROOOOAAAR!!]
One of the oldest beings among the Ancient Species, "Primordial Species – Heukrin", let out a roar filled with pain and fury.
It opened its massive jaws and began absorbing shinsu, compressing it until the surrounding space itself warped.
Then it released the condensed shinsu back toward its enemy.
BOOOOOOM—!!
Opposing it was a buffalo-shaped Ancient Being,
a direct descendant of the Native One.
Unintimidated, it roared back at Heukrin.
[KYAAOOOO!!]
CRACK—!!
From the front of the buffalo, enormous tangled tree roots burst outward.
Even after taking the dragon's breath head-on,
the roots showed no sign of breaking.
Instead, they continued to extend endlessly,
growing large enough to reach Heukrin itself.
While the roots and the breath clashed in a contest of power—
A man, so small he was barely a speck compared to their massive bodies, was quietly pulling back the string of his bow.
Once the bowstring was fully drawn,
he aimed—
and released.
SHWEEEE—
A purple arrow shot forward, slicing through the shinsu and rushing toward Heukrin.
It struck directly into the dragon's open mouth.
BOOOOM!!
[KRAAAAGH!!]
Even so, Heukrin's shattered mouth and head began regenerating instantly.
But before it could finish—
a thousand arrows rained down.
Again and again, the dragon's body was pierced.
Again and again, it regenerated.
BOOOOM—!!
While Heukrin regenerated, the buffalo released another wave of trees.
Entangled in the roots, the dragon's body was constantly pierced, crushed, and blown apart.
Unable to understand what was happening and only being battered without pause,
Heukrin roared in furious frustration.
[Enough! What are you doing?!]
[Are you betraying your own kind?!]
[I am a being who even knew your creator!]
Before the Native One was split apart, it existed as a single being.
Heukrin had lived long enough to know it personally.
Its anger was justified.
But from Khel Hellam's perspective—
That meant nothing.
The buffalo-shaped Ancient Being living within Khel Hellam's domain also paid no attention to the dragon's words.
Pulling back his bowstring again, Khel Hellam finally answered Heukrin—out of simple courtesy.
"Please do not resent me too much."
"You were never meant to awaken in the first place."
"If you did awaken, it means fate has changed."
"And if fate has changed, then Zahard must somehow be involved—or able to interfere."
"Your existence is far too dangerous."
Unlike the spear-sized arrows he had been firing before,
this arrow was enormous.
Realizing the danger, Heukrin attempted to fire its breath—
But the buffalo slammed its fist into the dragon's body.
At that moment—
Khel Hellam released the arrow.
BOOOOOOM!!
[KRAAAAAAAH!!]
The attack struck directly.
From the dragon's neck to its abdomen—
one-third of its body was erased.
But once again,
Heukrin regenerated without difficulty.
"…What an annoying ability," Khel Hellam muttered.
[You insolent insect!!]
Heukrin was in shock at its own condition.
Even if the Native One had come directly, that would be understandable—
But being injured this badly by merely a fragment of the Native One?
Its body's durability was at its worst.
Even with regeneration, it kept exploding apart again and again.
Its main attack—shinsu breath—was also far weaker than before.
Once, it had fought Arie Hon, the strongest of the Ten Great Family Heads, for half a day.
There was no way it should be losing to two insignificant creatures like these.
And yet—
It hadn't even managed a proper counterattack.
My soul is incomplete!
That's why I'm in this miserable state!
When will the last fragment of my soul be reclaimed?!
Meanwhile—
Khel Hellam was preparing his strongest single attack.
Lightning crackled around him.
Heukrin realized it too late and tried to stop him.
But the buffalo Ancient Being interfered again, binding the dragon with massive trees.
[W-wait—!]
"I wonder," Khel Hellam said calmly,
"if you will still regenerate after your entire body is erased at once."
Ignoring Heukrin's words completely, he released the arrow.
Khel Hellam – Killing Technique: Purple Light Annihilation Arrow
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!
The purple arrow shot forward,
piercing everything in its path.
Heukrin, bound by the trees, was struck directly.
From head to tail—
the dragon's massive body was completely annihilated.
.....
Heukrin had constantly complained about being incomplete.
And indeed, compared to its full form, it was embarrassingly weak.
But that did not mean the current Heukrin was weak by absolute standards.
It simply meant that Khel Hellam, without Zahard's army present, was far stronger.
Khel Hellam looked down at the place where Heukrin had vanished and clicked his tongue.
But—
SHOOOOOO—
BOOOOOM!!
A massive crater formed as Heukrin crashed down into the village.
Its wings regenerated instantly, but by the time it landed, Khel Hellam had already pinned it down again.
"Considering you have fought Zahard and the Ten Family Heads since ancient times,"
"I would like to show you proper respect."
"If you surrender now and come with me peacefully, I will reseal you without pain."
Khel Hellam extended a hand slightly.
[ROOOOOAR!!]
"Stop spouting nonsense!!"
"Do you dare—!!"
"Well," Khel Hellam sighed,
"negotiations have failed."
Once again the dragon's body exploded and regenerated.
Khel Hellam had no intention of letting it escape.
Even weakened, a complete Heukrin was a terrifying being.
If fully restored, it could start a war with one of the Ten Great Families by itself.
(It would still lose—but the damage would be catastrophic.)
Thus Khel Hellam resolved: If he couldn't kill it, he would capture it and let FUG's sorcerers seal it again.
....
But then—
Heukrin fled.
Khel Hellam immediately chased after it.
It must not escape.
However, from Heukrin's perspective—
This wasn't merely escape.
It was moving toward the last fragment of its soul.
Once it reclaimed that fragment,
it could tear this insolent insect apart.
…That boy!
The blood of its hated enemy—
Arie Hon's descendant.
The boy carrying its final soul fragment.
Heukrin cursed itself.
Why had it entrusted the recovery of its soul to mere humans?
It should have killed the boy and reclaimed it immediately.
Now—
That boy lay unconscious on the ground.
One arm gone.
One eye lost.
Around him stood many Rankers—
Members of the Khun, Yeon, Tu Perie, and Ha families.
Among them was a woman who strangely carried Zahard's scent.
But that didn't matter now.
SHWEEEE—
An arrow came flying from behind.
This time Heukrin avoided it,
spreading its wings and soaring upward—
Then diving straight toward the boy.
BOOOOOM!!
"What the—?!"
"Luf! Are you okay?!"
"Ow… yeah, I think so. But that monster—"
[GET LOST!!!]
CRACK—!!
"Move!!"
Heukrin's eight crimson eyes burned with madness.
It unleashed white shinsu breath in every direction.
Its wings created violent storms.
Its tail smashed everything nearby.
Several black-robed Rankers were instantly killed in the chaos.
For just a moment—
Khel Hellam's movement slowed.
And Heukrin seized the opportunity.
It lunged at Hoaquin.
Its enormous mouth opened wide.
"HOAQUIN!!"
Maschenny threw a lightning spear in panic.
But the dragon barely reacted.
"NO!"
She rushed forward—
Too late.
[ROOOOOAR!!]
The massive jaws—
large enough to swallow ten grown men—
closed.
Gulp.
Hoaquin disappeared inside.
The moment Heukrin swallowed him, it felt the final missing piece fall into place.
Satisfaction.
Fulfillment.
Power returning.
[HAHAHAHA!!]
"You insignificant insects!"
"I will tear you all apart here!"
Just swallowing the boy already restored so much power.
Once the boy was fully digested—
its former glory would return.
And so Heukrin began to digest him.
But at that moment—
something changed.
A voice echoed from within.
「You… what are you?」
「How dare you swallow my master with that filthy mouth?」
[...?]
For a moment, Heukrin couldn't hide its confusion and looked around.
The Khun family woman was preparing a lightning spear with an enraged expression.
Other descendants of the Ten Great Families stood nearby.
The insolent man still aimed his bow at it.
But none of them had spoken.
「Spit him back out…」
「…No. On second thought, I'll just swallow you instead.」
[…What?]
SHUUUU—
In that instant, Heukrin felt something strange.
As if its body was being pulled somewhere.
No—
It wasn't just a feeling.
It was real.
[…!!]
Its enormous body—larger than a floating castle—began to compress rapidly.
And it started being dragged into Hoaquin's body, the same body it had just swallowed.
[What is—?! KRAAAAAH!!]
Unable to comprehend the sudden turn of events, Heukrin thrashed violently and roared.
But nothing changed.
Its massive body was being sucked into Hoaquin at incredible speed.
SHUUUUU—
And in the blink of an eye—
Heukrin completely disappeared inside Hoaquin.
Everyone standing there was left stunned in shock and confusion.
....
[…Where… is this?]
After being absorbed in reverse, Heukrin regained its senses.
It stood in the middle of a vast ocean.
A night sea stretched endlessly under a giant moon.
And deep beneath the sea, far below—
there was a faint presence of something immense.
"Hm… You who have so rudely stepped into my—no, our—domain, who are you?"
[…?]
Another voice echoed.
This time the direction was clear.
Turning toward the voice, Heukrin saw someone—
Someone who looked almost exactly like Hoaquin, yet somehow different.
What stood before it was Hoaquin's power itself.
[Y-you… what exactly are you…]
"Hm? The 'me' outside seems to be asleep."
"And I certainly don't remember inviting a lizard like you here."
Shing—
The Power drew a sword and licked its lips.
"It seems you weren't a guest."
"You were food."
[…How long do you intend to mock me?!]
Finally unable to endure the endless humiliation, Heukrin fired a breath attack.
"Cute."
The Power flicked a finger.
And the breath attack disappeared.
It wasn't blocked.
It wasn't deflected.
It simply vanished—
as if it had never existed.
Heukrin trembled.
The being resembling Arie Hon's descendant held absurdly overwhelming power.
And the authority it had just shown—
That alone froze the dragon in fear.
Then—
The owner of the feminine voice Heukrin had heard earlier entered the domain as well.
「Ah, Power. You've already met this one.」
"Hm? Baekya. Did you invite this guest?"
"Or is it food?"
If the male figure resembled Hoaquin,
then the woman looked like his twin sister.
Their appearances were confusingly similar.
And each possessed monstrous power beyond reason.
What were these beings?
What was this power they held?
And what exactly was the descendant of Arie Hon who contained them?
Ignoring Heukrin completely, Baekya answered calmly.
「Power. Why ask the obvious?」
「Of course it's food.」
「It dared to devour our master.」
"Ah, I see."
"In that case…"
The Power smiled.
"I can finally enjoy myself for once."
Heukrin, still overwhelmed by their presence, forced out trembling words.
[H-here… I must… leave…]
At those words—
Both Baekya and the Power slowly turned their heads toward him.
Baekya spoke first.
「What are you talking about?」
「Entering here might not have been your choice…」
Then the Power finished the sentence.
"But leaving won't be either."
…And just like that, history recorded the moment when one more resident moved in.