Chapter 311: First Strike (4)

As Louis stared at the Mahyeol, Odilia’s voice rang out:

At her command, the dragons immediately resumed their vigilance.

The Mahyeol.

According to legend, it was a passage leading to the Demon Realm. This meant that demonkind could invade at any moment through this gateway. The Elders were deeply concerned about this possibility.

Yet contrary to their fears, the Mahyeol remained eerily still.

Then, one figure moved alone.

“Louis!”

“Louis!”

The Twins and Genelocer cried out to Louis as he approached the Mahyeol.

But Louis didn’t pause, even at their calls, and unleashed his Breath.

Shu Guagua-

Louis’s Breath surged toward the black hole.

The hole was so vast that Louis’s Breath appeared as thin as a thread in comparison.

The pure white Breath vanished into the hole as if being sucked into a vortex.

Just then, Louis noticed the black hole rippling.

A hit!

The darkness of the hole had visibly thinned in the area where the Breath had passed through.

Seizing the opportunity, Louis sent a message to the Elders:

Genelocer responded:

Before the words could even finish, Pamus’s gleeful voice rang out.

“Hoo? Does that mean if we destroy that thing, we can kill that bastard Kaiders?”

“Yes. After all, he’s foolishly exposed his weakness so blatantly. It would be… a shame to let such an opportunity pass, wouldn’t it?”

“Heh heh heh! Exactly! Our grandson speaks true wisdom!”

While the other Elders gently chided the exuberant Pamus, they didn’t oppose Louis’s plan either.

After all, there was no better alternative at present.

“Very well. If we can land a blow, let’s make it count.”

Consensus among the Elders was swiftly reached.

They should be able to use Heavenly Punishment at least twice without difficulty.

The plan was swiftly communicated to all dragons, and preparations for the second Heavenly Punishment proceeded rapidly.

The second Heavenly Punishment was even simpler than the first.

The dragons swiftly encircled the Mahyeol.

Light from their Breath converged in their mouths.

At the signal, a magic circle for the Heavenly Punishment materialized above the Mahyeol.

Almost immediately, over a hundred streams of Breath shot toward the circle.

As the Breath streams struck the magic circle, it gradually began to glow with rainbow hues.

The magic circle, saturated to its limit with Breath, was now poised to unleash the Heavenly Punishment.

In that instant…

A crimson light briefly flared from the Mahyeol before vanishing.

Immediately afterward, a black Breath erupted from the hole, hurtling toward the magic circle.

A gleam flashed in Louis’s eyes as he witnessed this.

I’ve been waiting for this!

He had roughly guessed that the creature was lurking inside that hole. If so, the first Heavenly Punishment attack would have made it intimately familiar with the power of the Heavenly Punishment. There was no way it would remain still while its weakness was being destroyed.

Ideally, his plan would succeed and he could destroy the Mahyeol right then and there. But even if that failed, luring the mole-like creature out of its burrow would be enough.

That was why Louis wanted to use Heavenly Punishment again.

If you want to catch a mole, you have to strike the moment it emerges from the ground.

A cruel smile curved Louis’s lips.

Simultaneously, time began to slow.

In the decelerated world, Louis parried Kaiders’s Breath.

As time returned to normal, Kaiders’s Breath veered wildly off course, curving away from the magic circle.

It was at that very moment.

“Did you really think I’d fall for the same trick twice?”

Louis felt a chill run down his spine as the voice, clear and deliberate, rang out.

His gaze darted frantically toward the source of Kaiders’ voice—near the magic circle.

Louis’ face froze.

No way!

Whoosh!

A swirling mass of dark aura lingered near the magic circle. The crimson-eyed darkness swirled and writhed, slowly coalescing into a shape.

Seeing this, Louis shouted, “Kaiders!”

The black whirlwind fully transformed into the form of a dragon.

The Breath was just a distraction!

Kaiders had unleashed his Breath at the magic circle solely to draw Louis’ attention. His true motive had been to make direct contact with the circle himself.

By the time Louis realized this, it was already too late.

Damn it!

The magic circle above Kaiders’ head lost its rainbow iridescence, darkening into a sinister black.

Crackle-

Simultaneously, black lightning flickered between the gaps in the circle, proof that Kaiders had seized control of it.

“Kuek!”

“Kuhuk!”

The Elders maintaining the circle spat blood, their grip on its power dissolving.

Kaiders smirked. “I’ll return the favor.”

Before the words fully left his lips, black lightning flashed, and torrents of black lightning surged from the circle.

The lightning spread in all directions, targeting the dragons nearby.

Kwa-ga-gang!

“Evade it!”

Startled by the ominous black lightning, the dragons scrambled frantically.

Most dodged the bolts with ease, but a few caught too close were struck down, plummeting into the sea.

Louis gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with fury.

“That bastard!”

Louis’s figure vanished in a blur.

He reappeared opposite Kaiders.

If that bastard could do it… so can I!

Dodging the crackling lightning flashing under his nose, Louis focused his mind on the magic circle.

I see it now. The structure of the magic circle.

Having grasped the structure and understood its principles, Louis swiftly interfered with the magic circle, manipulating it to regain control for himself.

Whoosh—.

A white spot emerged within the pitch-black magic circle.

Though initially just a tiny white speck, it gradually pushed back the darkness, expanding its domain.

Each time it expanded, the black lightning that had been surging from all directions began to subside.

Kaiders’ eyebrows twitched.

“So you… finally crossed that threshold.”

“Well, some kind soul left the answer key lying around, you know?”

”…I should have killed you long ago.”

“When haven’t you tried to kill me? You’ve always been after my life, you just failed every time.” Louis sneered at Kaiders.

As he spoke, the white patches expanded their territory with renewed vigor.

Even as the magic circle teetered on the brink of losing control, Kaiders remained composed, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“You’re still a novice, boy. You have much to learn.”

Before the words could even fade, blackness surged forth, pushing back the white and seizing control of the domain.

Louis’s eyes hardened instantly.

Just as I thought… still not ready yet?

His mastery of the Three-Attribute Zero-Tier was incomplete—he had only tasted a fraction of its true power.

If only I had more time…

If he’d had more time to refine his understanding, he could have faced Kaiders with confidence.

Swallowing his regret, Louis bit his lip.

Damn it!

It seemed his current level of mastery was insufficient to defeat Kaiders.

In that instant, black lightning hurtled toward Louis.

What?!

Trapped controlling the magic circle, Louis couldn’t move to dodge.

Panic flooded his face.

But Louis had overlooked one crucial fact: he wasn’t alone.

He had his grandfather, father, friends, and countless comrades by his side.

“Louis!”

“Louiiis!”

The Twins, transformed into silver lightning, intercepted the black lightning with their bodies, shielding Louis.

And then—

“You bastard!”

Pamus, his fury blazing, rammed into Kaiders.

Boom!

At first glance, the attack seemed crude and unremarkable.

But Pamus’s entire body was enveloped in the Origin of the Strength Attribute.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

A violent tremor shook the air.

“Ugh?!”

Kaiders’s body was flung back with a force several times greater than the initial impact—a speed comparable to a cannonball.

Startled, Kaiders flinched and his eyes widened.

The next to arrive was Genelocer.

“You’re the one who’s been harassing our son!” Genelocer roared, his form dissolving into pure darkness that instantly engulfed Kaiders.

Genelocer’s darkness tightened around Kaiders’ entire body.

Crack—crunch.

The force was immense, capable of crushing even the sturdiest steel.

But Kaiders, too, was a Dark Attribute dragon.

In an instant, he transformed into darkness himself, breaking free from Genelocer’s restraint.

And so, two dragons, each radiating darkness into the empty void, faced each other.

Kaiders and Genelocer.

The body Kaiders currently inhabited was one Wang Cheolsoo had created in imitation of Genelocer’s own.

As a result, the two dragons confronting each other were strikingly similar.

”…You wretched insects,” Kaiders snarled, baring his fangs at Genelocer and Pamus, who had attacked him.

Genelocer and Pamus merely grinned in response.

“Kluk. What a fool.”

“Hey, haven’t you forgotten something?”

”…?!”

Realizing his oversight, Kaiders’ gaze shot skyward.

There, grinning just like his grandfather and Genelocer, stood Louis.

“What?!”

Kaiders’ face paled as he realized the magic circle he had been controlling had already been dyed snow-white.

And below him stood Louis.

“Here you go!”

A playful shout echoed through the air.

CRACK!

A snow-white lightning bolt imbued with a Three-Attribute Zero-Tier Profound Truth—drained from the magic circle’s remaining attribute power—crashed down.

It was needless to say that Kaiders was the target.

And the white lightning struck him squarely.

Crackle… sizzle…

Amidst the ceaseless flashes of pure white lightning, Kaiders’ dark form flickered intermittently into view.

Then came a monstrous scream.

“Kaaaaaaah!”

Ordinary lightning wouldn’t have caused Kaiders such agony.

But this lightning, faintly infused with the Profound Truth of three attributes, ensnared him completely.

Crackle… crackle…

How long had passed?

Hiss-hiss-hiss…

With a faint hiss, the lightning vanished, leaving only charred remains behind.

For an ordinary dragon, this attack would have been fatal a hundred times over.

But Kaiders was different.

Slither…

The ashes swirling in the air coalesced, transforming back into darkness, slowly reshaping into the dragon’s form.

Yet the dragons weren’t about to stand by and watch this happen.

Attack them all!

Louis had dispelled the magic circle, freeing the dragons to act.

Seething with rage, they unleashed a torrent of attacks on the darkness resurrecting Kaiders.

Louis joined the fray as well.

His role was simple: to pin Kaiders down and prevent him from escaping.

Boom, boom, boom—!

Breath, Sacred Scripture, Spirit Sword, and technologies crafted from their unique techniques.

The dragons’ diverse attacks painted the sky in a dazzling spectacle, akin to a carpet bombing.

However, unlike conventional carpet bombing that devastates vast areas, the dragons’ aerial assault focused solely on one target, as if guided by some invisible targeting system.

Paf-paf-paf-paf-paf-paf-paf-paf-boom—!

Crack—! Crack—!

The relentless barrage of explosions and shattering sounds echoed across the battlefield.

Before his resurrected body could even fully materialize, Kaiders’ form was repeatedly torn apart.

Regenerated, only to be shattered again.

Reconstructed, only to be destroyed once more.

Blood and muscle, bone and skin, regrew and regenerated countless times, an endless cycle of creation and annihilation.

“Y-you bastards—!”

Kaiders’ roar, raw with agony and fury, reverberated through the air, but it only served as a work song, fueling the dragons’ frenzy.

“Kuhahahaha!”

The longer Kaiders screamed, the more fiercely the dragons pressed their attack.

Watching this unfold, Louis grew suspicious.

Why… is this so… easy?

The Kaiders he knew wouldn’t be so easily overwhelmed by such a paltry assault. Yet here he was, being dragged around like a ragdoll, his body battered and bruised.

This should be good, right…?

The suspiciously smooth progress gnawed at Louis’ unease.

“You wretched vermin!” Kaiders roared, and a massive darkness erupted from his body. The dragons’ attacks, hurtling toward him, were instantly repelled.

Grrr…

Kaiders let out a venomous growl, his face still raw and regenerating, radiating a chilling aura.

“I’ll tear you all… to shreds!”

A terrifying murderous intent surged forth, and darkness spread around Kaiders’ body.

Louis’s expression shifted dramatically upon witnessing this.

Easy? Bullshit!

I take back what I said earlier!

The black aura swirling around Kaiders’ body triggered an instinctive alarm within him.

This… I have to stop him!

He could feel it.

Unless one had reached at least Zero Rank, they wouldn’t be able to block the coming attack.

If I get swept up, it’s over!

Just as Louis was about to move desperately, sensing the impending danger, something reached Kaiders before he could.

Pshh-

It was a faint sound, like a needle piercing something.

Yet it resonated with such clarity that everyone present could hear it.

Then…

Fshh-

With a hissing sound like air escaping, a thin blue line etched itself into the air.

What’s that…?!

All eyes followed the blue line.

The blue line’s end pointed directly at Kaiders’ neck.

“Kruk?”

Kaiders, startled by the sudden development, widened his eyes in surprise.

But his shock was only just beginning.

Crackle—

With a grotesque sound, a massive hole appeared in Kaiders’ neck.

A gaping void had been torn through him.

But the greater problem was the frigid chill emanating from the hole.

”…?!”

An extreme chill, capable of freezing even the soul, began to encase Kaiders’ spirit and flesh.

“Kuaaaaak!”

Louis whipped around at Kaiders’ agonized scream.

What came into Louis’ view?

It was his own Transcendent Art, hurtling through the air toward him.

Perched atop the Transcendent’s hand was Jerome, wielding a colossal bow over two meters tall.

Thanks to this, Louis recognized the true nature of the blue streak hurtling through the sky.

Sea God Palace Atelierize!

The same Sea God Palace that had pierced the wings of the Mad Dragon Genelocer in the original work had now pierced Kaiders’ neck.

A smile spread across Louis’ lips.

Those bastards!

The Transcendent soaring through the sky was the very one he had gifted to Kendrick, who had been crestfallen after losing the Honcheon sword.

Therefore, Kendrick must be piloting the Transcendent.

And their arrival here meant…

It’s complete!

The ultimate dagger to deliver Kaiders’ final blow had arrived.

Louis’s gaze shifted to the Transcendent’s right hand.

And there she was.

A red-haired woman wielding a sword that blazed with both fire and golden light.

Hsss.

Tania closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

A second later, she snapped her eyes open and shouted, “Throw!”

Go, human dagger Tania!

With this bizarre rallying cry, the Transcendent controlled by Kendrick hurled Tania forward.

Simultaneously, she leveled herself horizontally and thrust the Honcheon sword straight ahead.

Whoosh!

Her body instantly shattered the sound barrier, bathed in golden light.

“Dieeeeeeeeee!”

Drawing a golden arc, the tip of the Honcheon sword pierced Kaiders’s body.

Thwack!

It pierced straight through his heart.