CH 208.

The first thing Seon-Hyeok felt upon entering his draconian transformation was the pain of bones being crushed. This pain quickly turned to anger as he looked for a place to vent.

Fortunately, there was a suitable target right in front of his eyes.

Seeing the black knight screaming while being engulfed in flames, Seon-Hyeok took a step forward.

Bang.

The gap between the combatants closed in an instant. Seon-Hyeok immediately grabbed the shorter knight’s helmet.

The black knight resisted, stabbing with his greatsword covered in dark energy, but it was to no avail. He was unable to even scratch the solid scales of the draconian, and Seon-Hyeok casually grabbed the knight’s head.

“Ugh.”

The black knight, with his head in the draconian’s grasp, groaned as he struggled.

Insignificant. So insignificant.

The draconian’s fighting spirit cooled down at the sight of the helpless black knight. It was disappointing - especially after he acted so arrogantly in mentioning the power of Chaos.

“Are you weak?”

His golden eyes, glowing with an auspicious light, were trained on the knight.

“Or am I strong?”

The black knight was unable to answer. He just groaned and twisted his body.

“There’s no way you could know.”

After coldly spitting out this final comment, Seon-Hyeok strengthened his grip on the knight’s helmet. His movements were more than enough to separate the knight’s head from his torso.

There was no blood. Black energy flowed out in its place.

Shhhhh.

Seon-Hyeok unknowingly found himself looking inside the helmet at the strange sight.

Nothing. There’s nothing.

There was no head like any normal creature should have. Instead, a vast darkness filled the inside of the helmet.

“Hm?”

Seon-Hyeok frowned upon feeling a strange sensation while staring into the empty darkness.

It felt as though something was staring back at him from the emptiness, and it was no illusion.

Flash.

A red line seemed to be drawn deep within the helmet, and it soon became a pair of eerie, red eyes.

Smirk.

The red eyes turned upwards in a spine-chilling smile.

And what the hell is this...

His sense of foreboding grew as the red smile widened. But for some reason, Seon-Hyeok could not take his eyes off of this uncomfortable gaze.

It was as though he was being sucked in.

[What is it that you desire?]

Before he could realize the owner of the creepy voice, the deep darkness within the helmet engulfed him.

***

Having come to find the source of the screams and explosions, Najima paled at the terrible sight in front of her.

There were bodies strewn everywhere. Over 1000 demonic beings formed a mountain of blood.

However, Najima’s surprise was not because of the demonic beings’ blood, nor was it because of their monstrous remains.

The huge draconian covered in golden scales, and the darkness that half consumed it. She screamed, realizing that the draconian was the one she so desperately searched for.

“N, no!”

Seeing the wriggling darkness finally swallow up the entirety of the golden light, Najima notched an arrow to her bow and pulled back.

However, she could not bring herself to unleash her arrow. It was impossible to separate the draconian and the darkness, as they had already become one.

“Ah…”

Her hands dropped limply to her side, and the arrow helplessly fell to the ground and rolled next to her feet.

Najima felt she was living a nightmare as she saw her companion be completely swallowed up by a malice several times denser than demonic energy.

“This can’t happen. This can’t happen.”

It would be a disaster for her kind to lose him like this. Even ignoring the fact that he was her eternal partner, he was the one to receive their Mother’s will.

But there was no way the darkness would release him just because she hoped it would happen.

Even now, the darkness greedily expanded its body.

At first, it only encroached on one corner of the clearing, but now, it was large enough to devour the remains of the demonic beings scattered about.

“I need to let them know.”

It would not be too late to shed tears over the loss of her partner then. Najima picked up her arrow and headed back towards her people.

No, rather, she tried to head back.

As she attempted to bravely step away, the Qeisha looked up into the air.

There was a red monster slowly circling over in the purple, demonic energy-contaminated sky.

It was Redvern.

Redvern’s well-being was inextricably linked to the dragon knight, and yet, it showed no anxiety despite seeing the darkness swallow up its master whole. The wyvern just lazily flew about.

“It can’t be…”

The fact that this dragon subspecies, connected in spirit with its master, was so calm meant that contrary to her concerns, there was no imminent threat to his safety.

Belatedly realizing this, Najima once again turned towards the darkness. One by one, she began to notice the scenes she overlooked in her panic.

And putting these factors all together, she realized that Seon-Hyeok was safe.

Rip.

As if to confirm her conclusions, a small line formed in the flawless darkness. It soon grew, becoming a giant rift through which a brilliant golden light shone.

It was like the rays of dawn scattering the darkness of the night.

And when it finally disappeared, there was no darkness or demonic remnants remaining in the area.

Only the towering draconian was present.

“What’s going on here?”

The Qeishas appeared and pressed Najima about the situation. It seemed they had rushed here to examine the golden light reaching up into the heavens.

However, there was no way she could know the exact events that transpired. By the time she arrived, the draconian was half-devoured by the darkness, and that mental image was not nearly sufficient to determine the foe’s identity.

“Wait…”

The elder Qeisha restrained his tribe as they all spoke out at the same time.

Glance.

The elder Qeisha pointed his chin towards Najima.

Shudder.

They closed their mouths upon seeing the Qeisha belatedly shiver in place as she realized the horrible ordeal was over.

A Qeisha’s eternal partner was the only person they could share their souls with, and losing this companion was a truly terrifying prospect. Considering that most Qeishas having the misfortune of losing their partners ultimately took their own lives before the end of their natural lifespans, the fear that Najima must have just felt was beyond any reasonable doubt.

Stagger.

Najima staggered. One of her kind rushed to support her, but she waved her hand to refuse his assistance.

There was something more important to her right now.

She stumbled towards Seon-Hyeok. The other Qeishas silently followed.

First, she confirmed the safety of her partner.

Fortunately, the draconian’s large, golden body did not have so much as a scratch, and there were no signs of darkness among the light.

“Seon-Hyeok.”

Seeing her partner look steady and healthy, Najima called out his name in relief. However, instead of answering her, Seon-Hyeok stared somewhere towards the north and spoke softly.

“I met the Fragment of Chaos.”

Najima stared at him in shock. She checked once again, but he showed no signs of having fallen to the temptations of Chaos.

“Chaos…”

Hearing his low voice, Najima gulped and waited for him to continue. What followed was far different from what she anticipated.

“What a talkative bastard.”

***

Up until the point the darkness first engulfed him, Seon-Hyeok felt a sense of crisis. However, he soon realized that the darkness covering his body had no effect on him, and he relaxed as he observed his opponent.

To be honest, there was nothing to observe. Darkness was darkness, and it was the same no matter where he looked.

The only unusual thing was the eerie voice resonating in his head.

[Accept me.]

Seon-Hyeok frowned at the voice gently trying to trigger his deep-seated desires.

[And I will give you everything you desire.]

It did not take much effort for him to identify the owner of the voice.

The Fragment of Chaos.

It was most certainly the Fragment of Chaos mentioned by the black knight.

The moment he realized the identity of this darkness, the pitch black world changed, as many scenes unfolded in front of his eyes.

Naked beauties, a mountain of treasure, and countless people prostrating themselves before him. Seon-Hyeok knew that this was all an illusion, but it felt so vivid that he found himself reaching out towards the scene.

Any normal person would have been completely swayed by that sight alone.

The vision shown by Chaos was simply that stimulating of human desires.

“You can give me anything I want?”

[Anything.]

When he showed signs of interest, Chaos’ voice grew even lower.

“That’s pretty intriguing.”

[Speak. I will give you everything.]

The voice of Chaos continued to echo in his head.

“Really? Then I’ll ask for one thing.”

The scene in front of him became even more dizzying.

“You and the Dark Lord.”

It was as though the Fragment of Chaos was trying to prevent him from thinking too deeply.

“It’d be nice if you’d both fuck off and disappear somewhere.”

The eerie echo immediately cut off.

“My wish would’ve come true already if it weren’t for you and that demon king, you son of a bitch.”

[I can give you power you can’t even imagi…]

Seon-Hyeok had no intention of listening to Chaos’ words until the end.

“So what happened to the black knight who received such unimaginable power again?”

The Fragment of Chaos grew silent.

“And I have no desire to become a monster.”

Of course, it was a bit facetious to call his current appearance human, but from his perspective, the draconian was more human than the hollow centaur.

At the very least, the draconian was a living being.

“So get lost.”

[Reconsider…]

“How pathetic. And you’re supposed to be the great Fragment of Chaos?”

Seon-Hyeok mocked the persistent voice of Chaos.

[You will surely regret this.]

The Fragment of Chaos spoke like a third-rate villain. Seon-Hyeok mocked his enemy as he gathered his fighting spirit.

Whoosh.

A golden energy immediately tore apart the darkness, and the plains unfolded in front of him once again.

Having confirmed Seon-Hyeok’s safety, Najima breathed a sigh of relief, and the Qeishas praised him for remaining resolute in the face of Chaos.

However, he was not listening to them at the moment.

If it was like this, any normal person would have no choice but to fall to Chaos’ temptations.

Seon-Hyeok instinctively knew that it was not his strength alone that allowed him to overcome the Fragment of Chaos’ schemes.

If he was not the dragon knight, rather, if he was not the dragon’s partner, it was possible he would not have realized that the illusion was, in fact, an illusion and have accepted Chaos’ offer. 

The Fragment of Chaos was a master of manipulating human desires.

The only factor Chaos overlooked was that the dragon knight’s mental fortitude was even greater than it anticipated.

But what about other humans?

Seon-Hyeok imagined that at least 80 percent of people would be unable to resist the visions it offered.

And the black knight was one such individual.

‘Park Sang-Jin, the King of the Dead.’

‘Lee Seo-Ra, the Sorceress of Red Flame.’

‘Han Sung-Woong, the Knight of the Flash.’

‘Cho Cheol-Hyun, the Priest of Darkness.’

The four foreigners who began to gain notoriety not long after the start of the Nordic rebellion. They were all powerhouses with high-tier classes.

And among them, the black knight he just faced had been the Knight of the Flash, Han Sung-Woong.

Seon-Hyeok was able to know this because when Chaos looked into him, he was able to do the same in return.

“If Chaos turns its gaze to the center and east…”

What a horrific thought.

A world where superhuman beings and monarchs were blinded by desire and became servants of Chaos. The current disaster would be nothing compared to the true calamity that would ensue if that ever came to pass.

A welcome voice rang through his head as he was deep in thought.

[Your concerns are valid.]

Seon-Hyeok forgot about the current situation and smiled brightly upon hearing the dragon’s voice for the first time in a while.

“Dragon!”

Dissatisfied with how she was addressed, the dragon remained silent for a while before pretending she did not hear anything and continuing to her point.

[However, the Fragment of Chaos cannot leave the west immediately.]

The dragon declared in a confident voice.

[Because the time has finally come.]