Free Web NovelIt was night.
Even the moon and stars were hidden behind dark clouds.
Heavy rain poured down.
The wind blew fiercely as well.
But none of those things reached On’s eyes or ears right now.
“—!”
No words came out.
“Ron—!”
“Grandpa Ron!”
Cale and Raon’s shouts.
“Grandpa—!”
Even her little brother Hong’s cry.
On could not hear them.
It was simply as if all time had stopped—or no, as if it were flowing far too slowly.
Slowly.
He raised one arm and let the gray snake bite it.
He moved his other arm and hid On behind his back.
And then,
“And you must always think of every possibility.”
An indifferent but calm voice.
It was far from the benevolence he showed in front of Cale, and it was also far from the warmth Eruhaben, Choi Han, Rosalyn, and the others showed toward her and her brother.
But strangely, On felt comfortable when she was with Ron.
She just felt comfortable.
Inside that stopped time, his voice reached her ears strangely whole.
Ah.
On could not say anything.
Her mind had gone completely white.
The gray snake, grown larger after taking in rainwater.
That water, carrying corruption—
KWAAAA—
Burst.
It swallowed Ron.
It happened in an instant.
SPLASH—!
Ron’s body was pushed back for a moment by the force of the explosion.
Tap.
On’s body touched Ron’s back.
After the explosion, silence settled for a moment.
SHAAAA—
The sound of rain and wind was so fierce.
And [N O V E L I G H T] yet, for some reason, On felt only a suffocating silence.
“......”
She could not speak.
What had happened to Grandpa?
She could not even think that thought.
Her whole body seemed frozen, unable to move.
SHAAAA—
Perhaps because the rain was soaking her entire body, she felt as if she was growing cold.
This was different.
This was truly different.
It was different somehow from Cale getting hurt.
Suddenly, On saw Ron’s back. It was bigger than her body, yet somehow looked small.
It had not changed.
Yes. Cale and Choi Han and everyone had changed.
Even On and Hong had grown bigger. But that back alone had not changed.
It was the same figure that always welcomed them when they returned to the estate.
“Ah.”
The strength left On’s four legs.
Ron was not strong.
That fact registered in On’s mind.
Her body swayed without her realizing it.
At that moment—
“On.”
Ron’s voice reached her.
It sounded somewhat muffled.
“!”
On’s eyes widened.
No way?
On lifted her head.
Strength returned to her wavering legs.
She could see Ron.
“The weaker you are, the more thoroughly you must prepare.”
The lesson was given, as usual.
SHAAAA—
She saw Ron’s wet arm.
She saw the marks where the water snake had bitten him.
His clothes were torn.
It was not only his arm.
SHAAAA—
Part of his upper body had also been ripped apart by the explosion.
Huh?
But what was revealed between the torn cloth was—
Steel plates?
She saw thin steel arm guards, and they were covering part of his upper body as well.
Of course, the steel plates had been warped, and the impact seemed to have hit his body too.
But—
It isn’t serious.
It was not a grave wound.
And the corruption—
The corruption had not entered his body.
“!”
On realized something and lifted her head a little higher. Ron’s face came into view as well.
She had thought his voice sounded strangely different, and there was a fairly thick cloth over his face.
It was the cloth Ron always carried because a handkerchief was not enough to wipe away Cale’s blood.
After using the arm that had not been bitten to push On behind him, he had covered his face with that arm.
And that face was covered by the thick cloth.
“Ah.”
A sound escaped On’s mouth.
The weaker you are, the more thoroughly you must prepare.
Ron’s lesson was no different from before.
He had always said it.
The weaker you were, the more thoroughly you had to guard your surroundings and use every option available to you.
It was the method Ron, who had once been an assassin or intelligence agent, had learned while facing the strong.
And while everyone was becoming stronger, Ron had been preparing everything in advance so that he would not fall behind.
That was Ron’s way of living.
“!”
And On realized it.
He was strong.
Ron’s way of living was strong.
There was strength in this method as well.
For On, who had recently been watching Choi Han’s and Cale’s methods more than anything else, it was a great realization that changed something fundamental.
“And—”
The moment On and Ron’s eyes met.
“!”
Ron moved swiftly.
And his eyes told On.
Follow me.
On understood and moved.
A cold body?
Legs that had lost strength?
Those things had long since vanished.
On’s movements, resembling Ron’s, were extremely quick and swift.
“!”
The moment On realized she was moving away from the rock and away from the riverside—
Ron’s voice reached her ears.
“You must never lower your guard before a powerful enemy.”
On understood the meaning of those words.
“You must also never forget the enemy’s goal.”
At Ron’s next words, clever On realized many things.
The gray snake that had tried to bite On.
That gray snake had taken in rainwater and grown larger.
Then it had bitten Ron and burst apart.
That huge body.
But that body was water.
Water beside rain and a river.
Would the water snake truly disappear just because it burst?
No.
Rather, after dealing with the obstacles that were Ron and On—
Ssssss—!
The sound of water reached her ears, different from the sound of rain.
It was not the sound of river water either.
On did not look back. She moved quickly, looking only at Ron’s back.
Ron taught her.
“And we must never forget the power we have.”
The moment Ron said that—
THUD!
On looked back.
Now she could look.
“You murderous old man! Why would you scare people like that?!”
From above, On heard Cale’s voice pierce through the rain, impossible to tell whether he was angry, laughing, or relieved.
And—
“Noona!”
Hong came running.
“Grandpa!”
And Raon flew over as well.
“Oops!”
But Raon immediately flinched and headed back toward Cale.
And On saw it over Cale’s shoulder.
Ssssss—sssst—!
The water that had burst was gathering again.
Taking in the rainwater around it as it did.
It was now difficult to call that thing a snake.
Ssssss—sssst—
It rose past Cale’s shoulder, taking in more and more rainwater, and in an instant, it grew far beyond Cale’s height.
“Ha! This isn’t a snake. It’s a water dragon!”
Cale realized what the being before him was.
“Human, this is the third Emperor’s dragon! A smaller version of the dragon!”
Raon was right.
Compared to the water dragon they had seen before, this water dragon was absurdly small, but it was gradually increasing its size, and its form was beginning to resemble that water dragon.
Only now did it make sense.
Why this thread snake had been so hard to notice.
Why this thread snake was so clever.
And why it was strong enough to explode and even change its body.
The water dragon.
If he thought of the dragon in front of him as a small version of that water dragon, he had his answer.
—Cale. Could this have grown larger and become the dragon from the prophecy?
The Ancient Tree said.
—It’s carrying corruption of chaos! It feels like an avatar of the water dragon we saw last time!
The Water that Devours the Sky spoke in an urgent tone.
And Cale stared at the water dragon taking in the rain and shouted.
“Ron! Wipe all of it off right now, or wash it off!”
How shocked had Cale been when he saw the gray snake attack On?
And then he had been shocked again when he saw Ron block it.
Of course, Ron’s prepared state had relieved him.
But no one knew how corruption in flowing water might be absorbed.
Cale warned Ron.
Then he glared at the water dragon.
That damn third Emperor bastard!
Not only had this bastard made the situation more complicated right now, Ron and On had nearly been in serious danger.
No, Ron might be murderous, but this man was not at an age where he should be running around in the rain like this.
Had that bastard never heard of respecting the elderly?
And On?
In Korean terms, she was elementary school age.
An elementary schooler had nearly been contaminated.
Did that make any sense?
One corner of Cale’s mouth rose, and his expression became extremely crooked.
Third Emperor, you bastard.
You are absolutely getting beaten by me.
Just as flames flared in Cale’s eyes—
“Yes, young master. I will follow your order. But who is the murderous old man?”
“!”
Cale’s pupils trembled, and he pretended not to hear those words.
He had no choice.
Even if he wanted to answer, he had no time.
Truly, he did not.
Because he still could not take his eyes off that water dragon carrying corruption of chaos.
The being, now closer to a dragon than a snake, opened its mouth.
KWAAAA—!
Its target was Cale.
The gray water dragon sharpened itself toward him.
Then it extended its hostility toward Cale’s companions beside him and even the soldiers and knights around them.
“!”
“Human, I’ll block it!”
At that sight, the surrounding knights and soldiers—
And even On, Hong, and Raon were startled.
THUD!
The water dragon briefly stepped on the ground, then charged swiftly toward them.
“F-fall back!”
“Dodge!”
“Human, I’ll put up a shield!”
MEEEOOOW!
Each prepared to respond to the water dragon in their own way.
“Hmph.”
At that moment, Cale snorted.
KWAAAA—
The roaring water dragon.
It charged toward Cale, then twisted its body extremely quickly.
“H-human, it’s going to the river!”
The river.
If a body that grew larger by taking in rain entered the river, what would happen?
“No!”
The knights and soldiers cried out desperately.
“I knew it would do this.”
Cale’s calm voice spread through the rain.
He stretched his hand toward the river.
“!”
“......!”
The soldiers and knights around him.
The Demon King’s army and territorial forces rushing over from afar after noticing the commotion.
The demons living near the riverside residences, holding their breath as they looked outside.
No one looked at the small water dragon charging toward the river.
SHAAAA—
A sound of water different from the sound of rain.
“This much is possible, right?”
At Cale’s question, the Water that Devours the Sky answered.
—Of course.
That gray dragon that felt like an avatar of the water dragon.
—One-tenth.
The Water that Devours the Sky, who had seen the water dragon, judged the strength of that dragon.
—It’s one-tenth of the water dragon.
If that was all—
—Simple.
Splash—
The current along the riverside split.
The river water, swollen by the fierce rain.
As that river water split, something surged upward.
—I know because I’ve been trapped. Nothing beats this.
Clank, clank—
Five chains surged upward.
Chains made of water.
Those chains instantly seized the water dragon that had been trying to leap into the river and bound it.
—!
The gray dragon’s body twisted.
It knew instinctively.
This was not water.
This was not water it could control as it pleased......!
It could not mix with it.
It could not absorb it.
It was weaker......!
Clank, clank—
ROAAAAAR!
The chains made of water tightened around the gray dragon.
The dragon roared and tried to break free of the chains.
It tried to enter the river.
But its body could only float in midair, wrapped in chains.
ROAAAAAR—!
The gray dragon struggled.
It tried to grow larger by taking in more of the heavy rain that fell.
Heh.
But Cale laughed at it.
It would be one thing if he could not find it, but Cale was not so weak that he could not capture one gray dragon that was about one-tenth of the water dragon.
Had Cale not blocked the third Emperor’s power one way or another before?
ROAAAAAR—!
The gray dragon roared, then finally glared at Cale.
Grin.
And Cale smiled.
“Your plan is obvious, isn’t it?”
The gray dragon’s body was trying to collapse.
It was probably planning to avoid the chains made of water by becoming droplets and falling into the river altogether.
Cale was not someone who would fail to recognize that.
Such an obvious move.
—I’m thirsty.
Cale finally answered.
“Fine. I’ll give you water. This is what you wanted, right?”
A sudden question occurred to him: was it all right for the glutton to drink salty seawater?
—Yes!
But since she herself wanted it, shouldn’t he give it to her?
WOOO—
The gray-stained Unbreakable Shield revealed itself.
It was not a silver shield, but—
SWISH—!
Two wings spread open.
And that shield—
CRUNCH!
Drove itself into the body of the gray dragon, which had been resisting while bound in chains and was now trying to flee.
Then it wrapped that gray dragon in its large two wings.
ROAAAAAR—
The gray dragon roared.
—I will drink well.
Just as chaos had seeped into the surface of the gray shield, water began to seep in.
—Gulp, gulp.
The sound of the glutton drinking water reached him.
ROAAAAAR—
The gray dragon roared in agony.
Its body grew smaller and smaller.
The more it did, the tighter the Water that Devours the Sky drew the chains, helping the shield.
“......”
Cale stood with his arms crossed and silently watched.
Roa...aar—
The gray dragon’s roars faded.
And at last—
—I finished drinking it all!
The moment the gluttonous priestess said that.
Drip, drip.
Between the chains made of water, the ordinary rainwater the gray dragon had absorbed flowed down and seeped into the river.
“Oh.”
Cale exclaimed softly.
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
One-fifth.
The gray-stained Unbreakable Shield.
About one-fifth of that shield had turned silver again.
—Urgh. Salty.
The glutton said it was salty.
—It’s refreshing. I want to drink more.
A strange light flickered in Cale’s eyes.
The shield with the heart carved into it.
Leaves were slowly being drawn across that shield. freeweɓnovel.cøm
More precisely, only on the part that had returned to silver.
Something is changing.
The Unbreakable Shield. The power of wood was changing somehow.
And for some reason, it felt as if that change was in a good direction.
Grin.
A deep smile formed on Cale’s lips.
*****
“!”
The third Emperor hurriedly stepped back and rolled up his sleeve.
Ten water droplets.
One of them had vanished.
Only nine remained.
These droplets were not simple marks.
They were no different from his avatars.
He had made them by placing his power inside them.
The sea was contained inside each of these tiny droplets.
It vanished?
Without a trace? fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Because it had vanished, the third Emperor could not read the memory of that water droplet.
The expression slowly disappeared from his face.
He raised his hand.
BOOOOOOM!
Water shattered, and the third Emperor stepped back again.
Through it, he saw the Demon King staring at him.
But right now, that Demon King was not the problem.
How dare they!
My avatar disappeared?
How dare anyone do such a thing?
A cold energy spread across the third Emperor’s face, and he opened his mouth.
“My disciples.”
He spoke to his subordinates.
He gave an order to those watching.
“Stop him.”
He pointed at the Demon King.
Stop him even if you must risk your lives.
Because he needed a small opening.
The third Emperor absolutely had to catch and kill the unknown being who had dared eliminate his precious dragon.
But if I cannot go myself—
If the Demon King did not give him an opening to move.
“......”
The third Emperor looked down at his arm.
Even if his body could not move, it would not be bad to create a brief opening to avoid the Demon King’s gaze and send one of his avatars, a water dragon.
Not power split into one-tenth.
All of it.
*****
—It isn’t enough.
The gluttonous priestess whined at Cale.
“How many times?”
Cale asked.
The glutton answered.
—Five times!
If she drank only five more times, she felt her stomach would become very refreshed.
A smile formed on Cale’s lips.
The Pope’s chaos.
The essence of chaos created through forty-three rituals.
And even the divine relic Wind-Borne Chaos.
The shield had certainly eaten a great deal.
What would happen if the shield digested all of it?
“Five times, huh—”
Cale’s gaze moved.
“Huff, huff—!”
General Mol had come running here in a hurry.
Cale looked at him, who had arrived belatedly, and opened his mouth.
“General Mol.”
“?”
“Is there no way to contact the Demon King?”
“...What?”
“I have something to say to him.”
The Demon King was obviously fighting the third Emperor.
There was something Cale wanted to ask of him.
—Strangely, it seems only half the prophecy may come true.
He let the Ancient Tree’s words pass by.
—Hmm.
And the Water that Devours the Sky revealed something oddly subtle in her tone.
“I’m thirsty.”
“Human, when you smile like that, it feels like everything is about to break!”
Cale let Raon’s words pass by and looked around.
The night had only just begun.
For some reason, it felt as though a night somewhat different from what he had imagined would come.
At the thought of stripping the third Emperor clean, Cale felt extremely happy and refreshed for the first time in a long while.
