Chapter 312: The Dragon Emperor (1)
A golden streak pierced through Kaiders’ chest.
Compared to Kaiders’ colossal, dozens-of-meters-tall body, Tania appeared minuscule.
The Honcheon Sword she wielded was even more insignificant—likely smaller than a toothpick.
Yet the result of their combined might defied all expectations.
Crack!
The hole Tania pierced through his heart was so massive that it nearly severed his upper body from his lower half.
Kaiders, now sporting gaping holes in his neck and chest, saw the black aura that had enveloped him dissipate.
Ting!
Frost originating from the neck wound rapidly spread across his entire body, encasing his flesh in ice.
And then—
Shatter!
With a clear, crisp sound, Kaiders’ frozen body shattered into countless fragments.
”…”
Silence hung heavy among those who had witnessed the scene.
Whoosh-. Whoosh-. Whoosh-.
Kaiders’ presence completely vanished, and the pulsating Mahyeol gradually began to shrink.
In the end, the Mahyeol vanished entirely.
Someone murmured, ”…Is it over?”
With both the Mahyeol—the origin of his resurrection—and Kaiders himself gone, the assumption seemed reasonable.
Just then, Tania’s piteous voice pierced through the air, flying out from the hole she had blasted through Kaiders’ back.
“Uwaaaah! Teacher, I’m falling!”
Sure enough, having lost her grip after creating a hole through Kaiders’ chest, Tania was plummeting toward the ground.
Despite her monumental achievement, Louis chuckled at her pathetic state and leaped forward.
Poof!
In an instant, Louis appeared before Tania.
He caught Tania as she fell.
Thud.
What would be the thumb and index finger of a human hand grasped Tania’s waist.
Tania grumbled, “Ah… if you’re going to catch me, why not do it in a princess carry?”
Her pouting lips hinted at a hint of disappointment.
Seeing this, Louis smiled. “You’ve done well.”
Tania’s face lit up at his praise. “Don’t mention it!”
Just as Tania was reveling in her moment of joy…
Hummm…
The Honcheon Sword she held emitted a mournful wail.
“Huh?” Tania blinked in surprise.
“Eh? Ah, the teacher?”
After muttering something to herself, Tania extended the sword. “It wants to talk to the teacher.”
“What?”
“The spirit dwelling here wants to talk to you.”
”…Is that so?”
Louis took the Honcheon Sword.
Contrary to Guff’s claim, the Honcheon Sword did not reject the dragon.
However, its golden glow was significantly dimmed compared to when Tania first appeared.
As Louis gazed down at the Honcheon Sword,
Thankfully, I’m not too late.
A unfamiliar female voice echoed through the air.
Yet, strangely, it didn’t feel unfamiliar. Why was that?
Louis stared intently at the Honcheon Sword.
No way… could it be Lotberia…?
As if sensing his thoughts,
Yes, it’s me. I’m so glad we can finally meet like this… Louis.
A voice tinged with faint joy confirmed Louis’s suspicions.
I truly… never imagined you would go to such lengths for me. You’ve suffered so much all this time.
Unable to contain his mounting curiosity at Lotberia’s words, Louis blurted out, “Did you summon me to this world?”
I didn’t summon you. Your fate guided you here.
“What does that mean?”
That’s…
Lotberia hesitated for a moment before sighing.
Very well. You deserve to know.
With those words, Lotberia began to speak.
Kaiders… He wasn’t always evil. It was when he developed twisted desires that he… changed.
“Twisted desires?”
At the time, Kaiders had already reached the pinnacle of the world. Unable to bear the emptiness that came with such power, he… sought to become a god.
“A god…?”
In this world, God does not exist. Yet it possesses a perfect, self-regulating cycle of souls. Kaiders sought to seize control of this autonomous system, manipulating the world to his will.
…
I believe this world’s autonomous circulatory system is the true blessing left by the vanished God. That’s why I clashed with Kaiders, who sought to disrupt it… and after a long battle, I was defeated.
Ah…
Though I lost the battle, the margin was razor-thin. My soul, stripped of its physical form, drifted through the world, while the wounded Kaiders altered history and went into hiding. At first, I thought that was the end of it. Until I realized Kaiders had another scheme in mind.
What other scheme?
Though my physical body vanished, my soul remained. And Kaiders knew that if I stayed here, I would interfere with whatever he tried to do. So he… changed his approach. He decided to reshape this world from the outside.
…?!
After exploring countless dimensions for eons, Kaiders discovered Earth. There, he began condensing information from the past, present, and future to create a blueprint for the future—in the form of a webtoon.
…
On Earth, it was just a simple comic. But if that webtoon had been completed… Evan’s destiny would have flowed exactly as Kaiders intended.
Ha…
Louis sighed inwardly.
Wang Cheolsoo’s unremarkable webtoon…
Yet its true nature was akin to a blueprint connected to another dimension—a grand design capable of manipulating events in the past, present, and future, if only it could be completed.
By the time I realized this, the webtoon was on the verge of completion. I desperately tried to stop it.
…
But just as the webtoon was about to be finished, an unforeseen variable emerged: a human soul was drawn into the completed webtoon.
Without being explicitly told, Louis already knew whose soul had been sucked in.
Finally understanding the truth, Louis sighed.
So that’s what you meant when you said my fate had led me here…
Exactly.
Lotberia’s admission left Louis speechless. He needed time to process this revelation and gather his thoughts.
“Haaah…”
Louis let out a long sigh.
He asked another question:
“How long have you been watching me?”
Since the very beginning… from the moment you were born into this world.
“Could it be… were you the one who saved me at the Hero King’s Tomb?”
Memories flashed through Louis’s mind—the first time he had ever faced a near-death experience.
It was the Hero King’s Attack.
For some reason, the Hero King had diverted his final strike at the last moment, allowing Louis to survive.
You remember! I even warned you to be wary of Kaiders!
Her voice sounded gleeful.
If she had possessed a physical body, she would probably be beaming with pride right now.
He spoke to Louis, who had recognized his efforts.
Louis sighed.
“Yes, well… thanks to you, I’m still alive. But Lotberia…”
What is it?
“Was all your planning for this very moment? What happened to the future you saw?”
It’s hard to say I truly saw the future. The future I saw only went up to this point, right before the Webtoon was completed…
“So, is it over now? Is Kaiders truly dead?”
Yes, I distinctly felt his soul being severed. Even Kaiders’ soul would be annihilated by the Honcheon Sword.
“If… if we hadn’t stopped Kaiders today, what would have happened?”
Well, I don’t know what happened after that. Kaiders’ future plan… the Webtoon ended right there. But…
“But what?”
Hah…
Lotberia let out a soft sigh before continuing, as if he had been reluctant to reveal even this much.
Louis, there’s something you need to know.
”…?”
The Light Race and the Demon Race—the two races commonly believed to have ignited the War of Light and Dark—… they don’t actually exist.
”…What?!”
Lotberia’s revelation was staggering. So shocked was Louis, who had been communicating telepathically until now, that he blurted out his reaction aloud.
As if understanding Louis’s thoughts, Lotberia continued his story.
The Light Race and the Demon Race… that’s just a story Kaiders fabricated to conceal Mahyeol and Seonhyeol.
Oh my God… how much of this is a lie?
Regaining his senses, Louis urgently asked, Then… what are Mahyeol and Seonhyeol? What exactly are they…?
Kaiders wanted to become a god. So what he did was become one with this world. The first thing he did was create a hole leading to the core of Evan. To connect his soul to it.
Huh…
Kaiders was gravely wounded in our battle, and to prolong his life, he separated his soul from his body. He then hurled his soul through the hole he had pierced into the world.
Then… what about Seonhyeol?
Seonhyeol doesn’t exist. What lies in the place where the hole is said to be is Kaiders’s old body.
Why would he do such a thing?!
To strengthen his wounded body. Kaiders believed that a God required a vessel worthy of his divine status.
…?!
As those words struck Louis’s mind, a sudden realization flashed through him.
For eons, dragons had cast their bodies upon Seonhyeol to contain it—only dragons who had reached the Zero Rank.
And from their sacrifice, Silver Flower Castle had been born.
But…
If that’s the case, Silver Flower Castle is…?
Yes, you’re right. The Silver Flower Castle you now call a holy site… is the body Kaiders prepared for God.
What a madman.
Louis clicked his tongue.
A body created by absorbing the remains of his own race over countless years.
Louis felt a deep sense of revulsion toward Kaiders.
As if sensing his thoughts, a voice filled with faint amusement echoed in his mind.
If we hadn’t stopped Kaiders today… a Malevolent God would have been born. But thankfully, we were able to deal with him in time. It’s all thanks to your efforts, Louis.
I did give it my all.
Just as they were exchanging these peaceful words…
Bubble… bubble…
At the spot where the Mahyeol had vanished, black bubbles began to rise.
Whoosh!
With a massive spray of water, a black pillar shot skyward.
The sudden upheaval startled everyone present.
Louis and Lotberia were the most stunned of all.
“What?!”
I-Impossible!
A pillar of black aura erupted from their astonishment, stretching endlessly toward the sky.
And then, finally—
Szzzzt.
With a grotesque hissing sound, the aura touched Silver Flower Castle.
[ Louis! We have to stop it! Now! ] Lotberia screamed.
Louis acted immediately, mobilizing his Manipulation Force and Interference Power.
Swish.
His strike hit the black pillar, but his attack merely passed through the aura like a bullet through smoke.
What are you waiting for?! Attack!
Afterward, other dragons unleashed their attacks, but the results were the same for all of them.
Even with Three-Attribute Zero-Tier power, it’s useless?
Then… how can we stop it?
As that thought struck him, Louis’s face darkened.
It’s already too late.
From within the black aura, crimson eyes materialized, followed by a low, menacing voice.
Even without asking, Louis knew exactly who he was.
“Kaiders…” Louis hissed through clenched teeth.
Meanwhile, Lotberia was in a state of panic.
That can’t be… It can’t be. I distinctly… I distinctly felt his soul being extinguished.
He knew this better than anyone, having willingly entered the Honcheon sword himself.
He repeated these words to himself, over and over.
As if hearing his thoughts, Kaiders’ mocking voice echoed in his mind.
Lotberia, did you truly believe you were the only one who had prepared for this moment?
…
From the moment you ruined everything… I too have been waiting for this day.
How… How is this possible…? I clearly severed your soul!
You succeeded. You undoubtedly extinguished a soul. However, you’ll be disappointed to learn that it wasn’t mine.
As Kaiders told his story, a thought flashed through Louis’s mind:
Another soul?
All possibilities narrowed to one:
The Fake Mad Dragon created by Wang Cheolsoo.
The very body Kaiders now inhabited.
If that body contained the Fake Mad Dragon’s soul…
And if, in a moment of crisis, he had sacrificed that soul to deceive Lotberia and bide his time?
No way… Did he provoke Wang Cheolsoo to create the Fake Mad Dragon just for this?
Now Louis understood why Kaiders had remained passive throughout the war.
”…He was just lulling us into complacency,” Louis murmured.
Kaiders chuckled.
Guh! It’s over! How long I’ve yearned for this day!
”…”
The moment Mahyeol and Silver Flower Castle align in a straight line, my soul and flesh will become one… Through this union, I will be reborn! As the true God of this world! Evan will find perfect peace in my hands!
Of course, I never believed that peace would extend to everyone.
Kaiders’ murderous gaze locked onto Louis and the Honcheon Sword.
If I ascend to the God’s Throne… you lovers can look forward to it. I’ll make you live as my slaves for countless eons. It’ll be a very… enjoyable time.
With those words, the crimson eyes vanished.
Watching him disappear, Louis wondered inwardly, [ Can I cut that bastard down with the Honcheon Sword right now? ]
It’s impossible. The Honcheon Sword is… a single-use weapon. That’s why I forged ten of them for this very moment, but now only this last one remains.
Louis sighed.
The perfect tool to sever the creature’s life force was now gone.
What should I do…?
Even as he pondered, the pillar of dark aura continued to expand, dyeing Silver Flower Castle black.
Finally, Silver Flower Castle began to move.
Boo-oo-oong-
A sound like a colossal ship’s horn echoed.
Silver Flower Castle rapidly approached Evan Planet, like the Moon seen from Earth, but far larger, visible across the entire world.
And then…
Thud-thud-thud-
The violently shuddering Silver Flower Castle writhed like slime as its transformation began.
Crack- Snap-
A sound like bones growing filled the air.
Simultaneously, arms, legs, and a neck formed, followed by wings and a tail.
Silver Flower Castle was gradually transforming into a dragon.
The problem, however, lay in its immense size.
As the original nesting ground and temple-like structure for dragons, Silver Flower Castle was larger than the combined size of thousands of dragons.
This was no surprise, considering it had been repeatedly coated with the remains of dragons over countless millennia.
How much Zero Rank Dragon remains had accumulated over that time?
Louis stared blankly at the sight.
“Ah… we’re in deep trouble now.”
This wasn’t just a major crisis—it was catastrophic.
If Kaiders were to fully seize control of that colossal body…
“This is a calamity…”
If that happened, Kaiders would attempt to reshape the world to his whims.
Freedom would cease to exist.
He didn’t realize that everything he knew might vanish or change in the process.
His father and mother.
Ariana and his grandfather.
The dragon race.
And beyond that, the Order of the Divine Body and the Tower of Wishes.
The Frenche Empire and the Green Mountains where he had been born and raised.
Everything he held dear would disappear.
Hoo…
Louis let out a long sigh.
With steely resolve in his eyes, he hurled Tania behind him.
“T-Teacherrr”
Tania cried out in shock at Louis’ sudden action, but her body had already been safely transported through space, landing securely in the palm of Kendrick’s Transcendent mech.
Left alone, Louis murmured, ”…Sacrificing myself like this isn’t really my style.”
His body erupted in a blinding white flame.
Baek Yeom.
It was the form of Spiritualization that Louis had manifested.
And then he…
“I’ll be right back!”
He shouted loudly and hurled himself into the swirling black Aura.
“Louis!”
“Louis!”
“Aaaad!”
“Teacher!”
Startled by the sight, they cried out, but Louis had already vanished without a trace.
“Son! Louis!”
Genelocer, startled, hastily activated his own Spiritualization and tried to enter the black Aura.
Patsu-!
“Crgh!”
Black lightning repelled him violently.
The other dragons fared no better. Each attempt to enter was met with the same violent rejection, as if the Aura were declaring, You are not worthy to enter.
“Son…”
Genelocer stared blankly at the swirling black Aura where Louis had disappeared, his face etched with despair.
This chapter is translated using Omni Translator, Omni's state-of-the-art novel machine translation LLM, and corrected by human editors. If you'd like to read ahead, you can try using our translator webapp to translate the raw text or link for free.