Chapter 151 : Thank You for the Teachings

I still didn’t understand.

– I am the Demon of Chains, ‘&%@#’. The one who binds and oppresses.

– How…!? N-no…!

– Yes!!!

How my younger self, who had been offered as a sacrifice, had managed to trap a demon in my head, and how, after a 10-year-long battle, I was able to finally devour it and awaken.

Just as the beginning was a mystery, the name of the trait, Demon Devourer, was ultimately nothing more than something I had created myself.

Therefore, the task of extreme physical training befitting the trait’s purpose—the wall of the body—was bound to be daunting for me.

But the Dragon Sword Duke, while torturing me under the guise of training, had also given me a hint.

– Even if you learn the same Corporeal Arts, the traits that actually manifest differ at least slightly for each awakened person, and in some cases, they are completely different. It’s the result of the situation at the time of awakening or a reflection of the unconscious.

– And the fifth evolution occurs when you understand the purpose engraved in that unconscious, bring it to the surface, and perfectly engrave it into your body.

– However, unlike the usual 1st and 2nd traits, in cases like yours where you’ve awakened a trait that could be 3rd or even 4th, problems arise in that process. That’s why complex-trait awakeners are bound to find the fifth wall more difficult than the fourth.

– But fortunately, you have a purpose firm enough to give your trait a ‘name’ yourself. What do I mean by that?

– Whether your trait is magic devouring or actual demon devouring, it means that what you wanted was to devour a demon. If that’s the case, it’s right to train in a way that reveals that will more perfectly.

Of course, it was merely a theoretical explanation, but that advice was certainly helpful.

After that, while recovering my body that had fallen from the sky and perfectly finishing the armor’s calibration, I came up with an inspiration.

It was a reflection on the two words that described my trait.

I recalled the image of the legendary monster Hydra, the closest thing to a ‘demon’ I had ever directly faced, and the scene of myself ‘devouring’ that thing.

– What must I do to devour such a monster?

That one-dimensional imagination of chewing and swallowing the Hydra with my teeth was now realized through the armor, which was now perfectly in sync with my original body and could freely change its form.

To be precise, it was the chains, the parts and the source of the armor, each strand of which could now stretch to nearly 100m, that brought about the change.

The result was.

‘Chain Devourer.’

Kwadododododok.

A form where each and every link of the chain possessed a mouth with sharp, serrated teeth to break down and swallow its prey.

That was what was now spread out like a net before the Dragon Sword Duke’s eyes.

However.

“Hmph….”

The duke, who was slightly floating and about to kick my head, twisted his body.

Kwang!

In an instant, he stomped his leg down as if dropping it from the sky to the ground.

At that moment, I saw my chains being forcibly sucked in under his foot.

‘How…?’

The moment my eyes widened, my body, having lost its balance due to the forcibly pulled chains, rolled onto the floor.

Kuuuung.

‘Damn it, what is this?’

Just as I was unable to come to my senses, more bewildered by the situation than the physical impact, I heard the duke’s laughter.

“Kekeke. It seems you’ve certainly found the answer. But isn’t this just ticklish, you brat.”

Turning my head toward the sound of laughter, I saw the chains pinned under the duke’s right foot, trying to dig into his leg.

To be precise, the serrated teeth of the links were nibbling away, tearing parts of the duke’s shoe and pants.

“Are these chains trying to be cute with me right now? Like a puppy?”

For some reason, I felt a little embarrassed.

The result of embodying the image of devouring a demon was merely chewing on a person’s clothes.

“……When I’ve trained it perfectly, it will be able to tear through most steel plates. The magic absorption efficiency will also increase significantly. Probably.”

It was a lame excuse, but for some reason, the duke didn’t reprimand me.

However.

“Right. Still, you seem to have found the right direction, so the hard work I put into teaching you has paid off.”

But saying things that turned my stomach inside out in a different way was just like him.

Ududuk.

‘Hard work? Who?’

The memory of my bones breaking dozens of times a day, and the duke’s face as he smiled and threw me from a height that seemed certain to kill me, suddenly came to mind.

That face, smiling wickedly.

……Hard work?

“Now, from here on, it’s a spar. Your body is made of steel. If I keep beating you, your efficiency will increase.”

“What kind of nonsense are you saying…!”

“Isn’t your body the proof? The results are clearly visible.”

“Ha….”

“So don’t feign illness and follow along well. You said ten days, right? I’ll beat you up very diligently during that time.”

His grinning face was overflowing with malice.

– How dare you set conditions for me?

That blatant expression conveyed his meaning without words.

“……Didn’t you say you would teach me the Dragonic Sword?”

“I believe I added the condition that it would be if your foundation was solidified? I wonder if that’s even possible in just ten days….”

“You son of a, shi….”

“Shi? Ho, look at this brat.”

“N-no, that was, I bit my tongue…!”

“You’re good at spouting nonsense too. Well, for a crazy brat, a beating is….”

Kwang!

“……the answer.”

Before he even finished speaking, something flashed before my eyes, and a thrilling pain shot through my entire body, making me spin around.

It was enough to bring back the trauma from the last moments of my past life.

In that moment, I was sure.

‘Right. It’s not something else, this is the demon!’

I gritted my teeth and began to move the chains.

And so, ten days passed in a flash.

However, during those ten days, not a single rumor about the Demon Cult was heard.

Instead, on the morning of the tenth day, when I could wait no longer and had resolved to charge toward Aslan, news of Rauel, which I had waited for as if it were a lie, was delivered through El.

– Woman with a similar appearance spotted in Raun, a small city near the Aslan territory.

* * *

“Here, take it.”

“What is this?”

As I, with a pale complexion and hollow eyes, plopped down on the floor and looked at him, Kyle Dragon gave a grin.

“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s a horn.”

At that, I tilted my head and looked up at him askew.

The meaning being, so what is it?

Looking at that arrogant expression, a dry laugh escaped him.

‘I beat him for ten straight days, and he still has the guts to rebel.’

This ill-mannered brat was starting to grow on him more and more, but if he showed it, the kid was bound to get conceited.

“I don’t think you’d lose to any ordinary magician now. But since we’ve now confirmed the existence of a Seven-Star mage, we need to prepare for it.”

He explained with a warm smile, but a crooked answer came back.

“So, you mean I should bash the mage’s head in with this horn to kill him?”

For nonsense, a beating is the cure.

Kwang!

“Ack! Ah, seriously!!! Come on!! You said the training was over!!! Why again…!”

“You need to say things that make sense, you punk!”

“……Damn it. You should have explained it properly….”

The duke almost got offended at the sight of me snapping back after getting hit on the head once, but he endured it with great magnanimity.

“Take this. If you’re inside this country, Castaria will hear it whenever you blow it, and then I’ll find you within half a day.”

“Half a day…… That seems like enough time for a mage to ponder how to cook and eat me, have dessert, take a nap, and still have time left over?”

A dumbfounded answer came back when I should have been shedding tears of gratitude.

‘This rude little brat….’

His fists trembled on their own.

Whether he was just too fearless or what, this bastard got on his nerves no matter how much he beat him.

But should a mature adult fall for the provocations of a mere brat?

He once again praised his own lofty patience and evened his breathing.

However.

“You seem to have a good grasp of your situation. And yet, you’re still determined to leave to find your comrade in the midst of all this?”

“I don’t know about fighting, but I should be able to manage running away, right?”

“……Are you in your right mind?”

“Of course, it’s nonsense.”

At the brat’s attitude, smirking as he laughed, that lofty patience snapped.

Kwang!

“Ack! Why again! Your personality is really….”

“Personality what?”

“……Passionate. Damn it.”

Sometimes he talks back consistently and gets on your nerves, and other times he backs down appropriately.

The expression on his face as he held his beaten head and glared furtively was astounding.

‘Really, this brat is just….’

His personality seemed as strange as his unfathomable talent.

“Even so, you must go?”

“Well, those guys happen to be quiet right now.”

“And you don’t think it’s the calm before the storm?”

“If those guys have any sense, common sense says they’ll lay low for a while.”

“Oho. So you mean you think before you act?”

“Who do you think I am?”

……What a tempting head it was.

How could his hand be drawn to it with every single word?

Kwaak.

“Ah! Aaargh! My ear, ear! It’s tearing… a joke, just a jooooke!”

Kung.

Urureung.

“Ah, shit!”

The weight that shook the training ground floor when he let go of the pulled ear.

‘This is the body of someone who has just completed his fourth evolution.’

The brat’s body, which had already far surpassed the level of a typical Corporeal Arts user, was such that the elasticity of his ear alone could withstand that terrifying weight.

But even so.

“What if those guys ignore that common sense and come after you?”

It was unlikely, but if they had seen the abilities this guy displayed in his fight with the Hydra, it was a possibility that couldn’t be completely ignored.

“I’ll just beat up any decent guys, and if it’s a mage…… I’ll blow this and run immediately.”

“Are you going to repeat what you said earlier? You think that’ll work?”

“It should work if I run before they get close. No, even if it doesn’t, I have to go.”

“Does that make….”

“She is someone I have taken as a comrade. Since I said I would accept her, I must take responsibility.”

The look in the ill-mannered brat’s eyes when he said such things even looked resolute.

“Even if your life is in danger?”

“I learned that living that way is the right way.”

A smirk escaped at that answer.

‘This kid’s father, was he Ryan Drasen?’

He raised his son well.

He felt inwardly pleased, as if he had met a truly proper junior for the first time in a while, but praising him honestly would spoil him.

“You seem to have fallen for her quite hard. That girl.”

“No, really! It’s not like that!!!!!”

So he teased him for no reason, and the reaction was quite intense.

The sight of him flopping around like a live fish was amusing, but.

“That’s informal speech, you punk!”

Kwang.

“Ack!”

It is an adult’s duty to correct bad habits for sure.

“N-no. Seriously, you old bastard…!”

As if one or two hits weren’t enough, this brat earned another beating, but.

The sight of him with tears welling up in his eyes from injustice now looked somewhat cute, like a brat should, so he let this much slide.

“Still, be especially careful, and if possible, try not to cause open conflict with Aslan. The times are not good.”

“Damn it. That depends on how those guys come at me….”

Regardless of the times, for my people, I’ll turn everything upside down without a care.

That too was a way that he liked.

‘This kid……. He’s worth raising after all.’

To avoid showing the smile that was forming for no reason, he turned his gaze to the sky, no, the ceiling.

“Be sure to use what I taught you when you’re in a hurry. If there’s someone who recognizes it, they won’t dare to touch you recklessly, you who my hand has reached.”

“……Was that a technique for proving my identity? If I use it wrongly once, everyone will die.”

“Kekekeke. Right. That’s a story for when you can use it properly.”

“Hmph. It won’t take long.”

“Good. You may go now. Just keep one thing in mind.”

“Yes?”

“I am a Corporeal Arts user who deliberately maximized only my physical abilities to use the Dragonic Sword. In other words, without the Dragonic Sword, I am a Seven-Star so low-level that even calling me half-baked is not enough.”

“Why go that far…….”

“That’s how big the difference is between one who has achieved the seventh evolution and one who has not.”

It wasn’t about 6-Star and 7-Star, but a statement that completely separated 7-Star from those below it, but it was the truth.

“Remember that right now, you can’t even beat my bare body. If your opponent is a Seven-Star mage, you must absolutely avoid them.”

“Hey, how many times are you going to say the same thing! They say you just get more worried when you get old.”

Kwang!

“Ack! Again!? Why every time……!”

This damn brat really earns a beating until the very end.

“Tsk?”

“Damn…….”

Tsk.

“Then, I’m really going?”

“Yes. Go.”

“Geez, that temper…….”

But for some reason, he didn’t dislike the sight of him walking away while acting moderately irritated.

“……Thank you for the teachings.”

And the bumpkin-like image of him bowing his head slightly with a voice that was barely audible, as if embarrassed, after moving a little further away.

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