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Chapter 219: Dragon (3)
The mighty hero, who had been disguised as a powerless child, had been beside them all along.
It was only later that they realized this fact.
“No way… What is this…?”
Seraphina let out a groan.
When she thought back, it had been strange from the beginning.
There was no way a powerless child could have followed them on their journey.
Yet, they hadn’t questioned it at all, not sensing anything strange about it.
They had only believed her to be an ordinary child, caring for her and watching over her.
It felt as if their perception itself had been twisted.
Instead of answering, the woman clapped her hands.
“Yes, it wouldn’t be satisfying for you if things ended like this. I’ll entertain you appropriately.”
With those words, the woman stepped forward.
In that moment, a chill ran down their spines.
The woman first approached Seraphina.
Seraphina quickly shouted,
“Material Chapter 23, Verse 1! The Sun God answered the servants who raised their hands in prayer, who protected them from evil!”
Kiiiiing!
A brilliantly shining barrier enveloped Seraphina.
It was the shield of God that the Sun God had once directly bestowed upon His believers. Now, it was recreated here through the power of the scripture.
In the face of such power, the woman casually extended her finger.
Crack!
With just a simple gesture, the divine shield was torn apart like a sheet of paper.
Seraphina was horrified.
Even the dragon they had just fought couldn’t have broken through so easily!
The woman lightly touched Seraphina’s head with her finger.
“Thank you for your care during the journey. Now you can rest peacefully.”
“Aah…”
The power in her words overwhelmed Seraphina.
She collapsed, losing consciousness.
Her expression was one of utmost tranquility, as if all the worries of the world had vanished.
“Seraphina!”
“You bastard!”
The Mercenary King ground his teeth as he charged forward.
He lowered his stance and closed the distance with the woman’s body.
There was nothing to obstruct him as he got close.
He thrust his sword toward the woman’s chest, his strike filled with sharp aura.
But…
“What… What is this…”
The sword, imbued with aura, couldn’t pierce the woman’s body.
It didn’t even manage to leave a scratch on her bare skin.
It felt like trying to push over a deeply rooted tree.
The woman leisurely extended her finger.
“Blood Edge. You pretended not to care, but you did look out for me. It was kind of cute. So now, you too can rest.”
Bloodedge’s body also collapsed.
Now, only Spellweaver remained.
Spellweaver, trembling with fear, clasped his hands together.
“Come forth!”
At his command, shadowy monsters that had been scattered around crawled toward the woman, ready to devour her body.
“Oh my, a homunculus. You put a lot of effort into creating it, didn’t you?”
The woman looked at the shadows with a fond gaze.
The shadow monsters cowered under her gaze.
They slowly backed away before eventually adopting a posture of submission.
“…Huh.”
Spellweaver let out a hollow laugh.
The dangerous homunculi, which only the head of the Shadow School could control, were submitting to the woman as if they were docile lambs.
‘Who is this being?’
As he stared in disbelief, Spellweaver’s eyes caught sight of the ring the woman was wearing.
His eyes widened in shock as he recognized the symbol on the ring.
“W-Wait. That symbol… No way…”
Spellweaver mumbled, his face filled with horror.
“Ancient Dragon Ignisia?”
“Oh my.”
For the first time, the woman’s expression changed.
“It’s been such a long time, but there’s someone who remembers.”
“Why… Why are you here?”
“I have business to attend to. Your cold judgment was fitting for a magician. Now, you too can rest…”
Just as she was about to put Spellweaver to sleep as well,
Boooom!
A deafening roar echoed.
The Dragon’s Lair shook violently.
Their attention was drawn to the source of the sound.
Boooom!
The gray sphere in the center of the Dragon’s Lair was collapsing.
Soon, the wall of the sphere shattered.
Kaaaah!
A red dragon appeared, raising its head and roaring.
It stepped outside the sphere.
“Huh?”
Spellweaver’s eyes widened.
The dragon had broken out of the sphere and appeared as if it had won.
But the dragon was forcefully pulled back into the sphere at that moment.
Kraaaaaah!
The dragon struggled, swinging its front claws as if it didn’t want to go back inside.
But all its resistance was in vain and was drawn back in.
And then,
Thud!
A loud noise echoed once again.
The gray sphere slowly began to disappear.
Ketal’s figure came into view.
He was standing right above the limp dragon.
The dragon was motionless, its tongue sticking out.
Ketal laughed gleefully as he stood over the dragon’s corpse.
“That was somewhat amusing.”
Satisfied, Ketal turned his head.
He saw the fallen comrades and the woman.
Ketal’s gaze met the woman’s.
“What’s this now?”
Ketal stroked his chin.
He had fought the dragon inside the sphere, defeated it, and came out, only to find a woman seemingly having taken down his comrades.
The woman smiled faintly.
“Hello. Should I say, nice to meet you for the first time, Ketal?”
* * *
When he came out, he saw an unfamiliar woman who had taken down his comrades.
It was a strange situation, but Ketal replied calmly.
“It’s not the first time, is it? Your name was Ian, wasn’t it?”
“Hmmm.”
The woman narrowed her eyes.
“You recognized me right away? How did you know? I thought I had disguised myself perfectly.”
“Your behavior was exactly the same. There’s no way I wouldn’t notice. But I didn’t expect you to look like that.”
He had predicted she was a woman, but he hadn’t expected her to be such a tall adult woman.
Even Ketal was surprised.
“You can tell just from that? How interesting.”
The woman looked at her body curiously, as if trying to confirm whether her behavior matched Ketal’s words.
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Ketal stroked his chin.
"I was worried it might come to this."
There had been no hint of power from the boy named Ian who had followed them.
Ketal himself hadn’t sensed anything either.
But Ketal had fought countless monsters in the white wilderness.
His instincts, honed through those battles, had warned him that the boy was strong—stronger than even the top-tier superhumans among his companions.
Perhaps, he was the most powerful being Ketal had ever encountered.
The boy had quietly observed them as they fought the dragon, watching over them.
This had made Ketal cautious, unsure of the boy’s intentions in following them.
However, when the battle with the dragon jeopardised his companions' lives, he had no choice but to intervene.
After finally defeating the dragon, Ketal emerged to find that what he had feared had come to pass.
"Did you kill them?"
"No, I didn’t. I just put them to sleep."
"That’s a relief. Then, may I ask one question?"
"Feel free to ask."
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled faintly in response to his penetrating question.
Spellweaver wanted to say something, but was overwhelmed and couldn’t speak.
"Who do you think I am?"
"A few possibilities come to mind."
There was a high chance it was a lie, but Ian had claimed to be from the Empire.
The woman could be a powerful figure from the Empire.
Or, given the dragon’s interest in demons, she might be a demon summoned to this world.
But there was one thing Ketal was certain of.
"A hero."
A being with a power of that level.
"Hmm... well, yes."
The woman seemed slightly dissatisfied with his answer, but she didn’t deny it.
Ketal lightly jumped down from the dragon’s body.
"So, what are you here for?"
"That thing behind you."
The woman pointed at the dragon’s corpse with her finger.
Ketal clicked his tongue.
"Do you want the corpse?"
"I originally wanted it alive, but I suppose the corpse will do."
"Sorry, but that’s not going to happen."
Ketal refused.
The dragon’s corpse was his—an offering to obtain mysteries.
He had no intention of handing it over to anyone.
"Hmm."
The woman fell into thought.
There was no real need to clash with Ketal over the dragon’s corpse.
She had already discussed everything with the traveling merchant.
Ketal defeating the dragon had been a bothersome task solved on her behalf, not something to be upset about.
They could conclude everything here and part ways.
However, the woman stared at Ketal, considering him.
An alien presence—someone who didn’t seem to belong to this world.
If he was indeed the type of being she suspected...
‘I need to confirm something.’
"So what if I insist on taking it?"
The woman licked her lips, and Ketal relaxed his shoulders.
"Then I guess there’s no other choice."
When two beasts compete for the same prey, there was only one thing to do: defeat the other and claim the prize.
The space around them grew heavy, a massive pressure bearing down on the still-conscious Spellweaver.
He let out a silent scream.
The woman moved first.
She took a step forward, her body instantly appearing before Ketal.
It was a speed Spellweaver couldn’t even perceive.
She swung her fist, and Ketal tilted his head to avoid it.
Boom!
Her fist brushed past Ketal’s head, the impact violently shaking the dragon’s lair.
The jewels embedded in the walls began to shatter.
Ketal grabbed the woman’s arm, spun around, and pulled her down, intending to slam her into the ground.
"Oops."
The woman stomped on the ground, causing it to tremble with a loud noise.
The unstable footing prevented Ketal from moving her as he intended.
She then aimed a punch at Ketal’s chest.
Ketal deflected it with his arm, causing her arm to recoil.
The shockwaves rippled out again, causing more jewels to fall.
Ketal threw a punch, and the woman responded in kind.
Boom!
Space seemed to be pushed outward.
This was the dragon’s lair, a place cut off from the outside world.
If it hadn’t been, the trees on the mountain outside would have been uprooted by the force.
Spellweaver barely managed to summon shadow creatures to shield his body from the impact, but even so, he coughed up blood.
The woman’s body was pushed back, sliding across the ground.
"Impressive."
Ketal was genuinely impressed.
Since emerging from the wilderness, this was the first time someone had endured his close combat to this extent.
Even among the barbarians of the white wilderness, only a few had managed this.
What was astonishing was that the woman wasn’t using any sort of mystic power.
Ketal had gained a rudimentary sense for detecting such power, even though he couldn’t wield it himself.
That’s how he knew.
The woman relied solely on her physical strength to exert this power level.
Ketal was genuinely impressed.
"How can you generate so much strength from such a slight frame?"
"Are you mocking me?"
The woman looked exasperated as she shook her hand, which was now completely shattered.
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