Chapter 123: A world in ruins

It looked as if it were alive.

The red scales glistened with vitality, and the muscles appeared ready to move at any moment. However, for some reason, its eyes seemed unfocused, as if it were in a daze.

‘Is it alive?’ I wondered, approaching slowly. Why was Krivmaher here? What could possibly require this overwhelming display of power?

The intense aura around us seemed to be the result of an exceptional concentration of mana. It made it challenging to see clearly.

‘Could it be a Dragon Heart?’

It was a legendary item that had been mentioned in tales. A Dragon Heart was said to be an unparalleled source of mana, an engine that no magical technology could replicate.

However, I couldn’t understand why the Dragon Heart seemed to be active. It appeared to be dormant, but it was doing something.

‘What is it doing?’

It seemed to be doing something that required a tremendous amount of mana.

‘Could it be related to the dungeon core?’

There was no way a Dragon Heart could create a permanent time loop like this, but was there some connection?

As I pondered these questions, I couldn’t afford to get lost in thought any longer. A familiar sound interrupted my thoughts.

-Gooo…

The black smoke, now gathering outside, was approaching us. It felt like an overwhelming wave of darkness.

“Am I trapped here forever?” I mumbled, realizing that leaving the city was no longer an option.

It was difficult to imagine that a Dragon Heart could create such a permanent time loop. However, with the current situation, I couldn’t help but think about it.

The relentless black smoke moved closer, making it difficult to think about anything else. It seemed that Krivmaher was pulling the black smoke towards itself.

“I can’t just stand here and do nothing.”

The Dragon Heart was undoubtedly a treasure, but escaping from this situation was my top priority.

I charged forward. If I could destroy the Dragon Heart, perhaps something would change.

I felt a mix of anxiety and determination as I rushed towards the massive dragon. My sword cut through the air, aiming for the Dragon Heart.

Quadduk!

However, I underestimated the dragon’s defenses. Despite my best efforts, the sword failed to penetrate the dragon’s scales.

Before I could react, the black wave of smoke engulfed me, and I was swept away.

.

.

.

.

“Give it back!”

“No way! Try to take it from me!”

I awoke to the sound of children’s voices arguing.

I still felt a bit queasy from the nightmare, but there was no time to dwell on it.

‘I need to find Luna,’ I thought. I had to find Evan too. After spending so much time together, even Evan didn’t feel like an enemy anymore.

Now he felt like a comrade.

I had to find them, especially Luna.

I dashed forward without hesitation.

I had agreed to meet Luna and Evan at the temple, but I needed to tell them about my experiences before that.

“Luna! Evan!”

I shouted their names as I ran.

People around me stared at me as if I were crazy, but I didn’t care.

After calling their names for a while, I spotted Luna flying in the distance.

“Friend.”

Unlike our first encounter, Luna looked puzzled when she saw me.

“What’s wrong?”

“I found a dragon.”

Luna’s eyes widened as she processed my words.

“A dragon?”

“Yes, a dragon.”

Luna’s energy returned as she realized the significance of what I had said.

“We need to find Evan.”

I knew that I couldn’t penetrate the dragon’s scales with my power alone, but Evan might have a better chance.

We set out to find Evan and quickly located him.

“What’s going on?”

Evan seemed exhausted, but his expression brightened as I explained everything, just like Luna had earlier.

“Is that true?”

“Let’s go together.”

Once we had found the dragon, we knew that Berial was no longer relevant to our situation.

However, when we arrived at the temple, we witnessed an unexpected sight.

“Berial?”

Berial was outside the temple.

He looked like he had prepared for suicide at any moment, but when he saw us, he let out a manic laugh.

“You all rushed here so eagerly. What are you planning to do?”

“It seems like there’s something bothering him,” Evan commented on Berial’s strange behavior.

Indeed, Berial seemed different from before, and his transformation might be the clue we needed to escape this place.

“Why? Why did you come here to destroy my city? Are you not afraid of the divine punishment that Lethe will bring upon you?” Berial shouted with desperation in his voice.

“I have always believed in the existence of God as a Holy Knight of the Kasian Empire,” Evan shouted, drawing the attention of the priests who began to gather around the temple.

Ignoring the onlookers, Evan calmly spoke, “And I have always believed that God is a merciful being.”

“I’ve said this before, but blame your foolishness for judging God by human standards!” Berial retorted.

“To be honest, I still have doubts about whether your so-called Lethe is a real God,” Evan continued.

“But now that I’ve experienced this place firsthand, I can’t find an answer to who else could create such a place if it’s not a God. So, while I may doubt whether Lethe is truly divine, I will never follow Lethe. From now on, I will only follow the light.”

“Hahaha! What is the definition of perfection? Do you dare to judge it as a mere human like you? Lethe is perfect! More perfect than any other God in this world! But you, just a lowly human, dare to deny Lethe?” Berial laughed manically.

Berial then took a strange-looking object from his pocket. It was a small statue about the size of his palm, with a bizarre and grotesque appearance. It was a dark red color, resembling a sculpture of a monstrous fetus.

A powerful surge of energy radiated from the object, stronger than any named item I had encountered before. Luna and Evan seemed to sense this as well, and their expressions grew serious.

“Only the light shall I follow,” Evan said as he drew his sword, and Luna activated her Divine Descent ability. I prepared myself for battle as well.

‘What does your talk about God and light even mean in this situation?’ I wondered. To me, God was just an almost omnipotent entity, and light was just electromagnetic radiation.

“Evan, we’ll take care of the priest. Please break the Dragon Heart in the temple,” I suggested.

“Understood.”

Berial’s strange object began to twitch and emit incomprehensible noises.

Inhuman sounds echoed through the temple, and the object’s form started to expand, transforming into a grotesque monster that defied description. I had never seen anything like it before.

“This is an item, right? Or a monster?” I wondered aloud.

The appearance of this creature was as disturbing as its mysterious emergence. However, I found some hope in facing it.

Compared to the endless cycles of regression, battling such a creature multiple times seemed like a welcome challenge.

The creature’s bizarre emergence was a puzzle in itself, and I suspected that defeating it would require equally unique tactics.

Its appearance was not only grotesque but also unsettling.

The creature’s voice was like an incantation, and its chants seemed to alter the very fabric of the sky, turning it dark.

“Something’s not right. I’ll go ahead.”

Evan rushed forward, heading straight for the temple. While I didn’t know the exact location, the temple was the only place inside which the Dragon Heart could be found.

As an Aura Master, Evan should be able to cut through the building and find the dragon with a single stroke.

“But why doesn’t he try to stop us?” I wondered aloud.

The surprising thing was that even while watching Evan, Berial didn’t take any particular action.

Did he sense a crisis and act differently from before?

However, the answer came shortly.

Kwaaaah!

A powerful surge of mana.

It was a tremendous force that could hardly be considered human strength.

“Wow…”

“How?”

While listening to Luna’s admiration, they watched as the temple crumbled.

The enormous form of the Red Dragon still had a blurry focus, surrounded by mana.

‘Could that also be Berial’s power?’

Upon closer inspection, black tendrils seemed to be adhering to the dragon’s body.

It looked as if the black tendrils were controlling Krivmaher, and that was soon revealed to be the truth.

“You shall forever be trapped in nightmares! This is the mercy of Lethe!”

As if it had become night, the sky turned pitch black.

And the priests who had been around naturally transformed into black smoke, following Berial’s command as the sunlight disappeared.

I don’t know what principle this is, but for now, it’s time to take down the enemies before us.

Uuuung.

My elite undead forces manifested beyond the void and materialized on this land.

To my left and right were Nickel and Timur, and the colossal Ludo appeared behind me, while Mirenae flew playfully around.

-%!@@!!

Clang!

A creature that had transformed into a furry, two-legged beast from the statue lunged at Nickel.

Nickel also displayed hostility toward the creature, as if sensing something.

“This is amazing.”

“Eve.”

From the beginning, Luna sensed something unusual and immediately unleashed her power.

Eve Millennium, who had taken control of Luna’s body, looked around and smiled before speaking to me.

“I think I should block this way, don’t you think?”

In the direction she pointed, a massive amount of black smoke was gathering.

It would be unreasonable to fight while trying to avoid those.

Perhaps in this situation, the most troublesome enemies were the black smoke entities.

“Please.”

“Well, I guess I should do at least this much to save face.”

Although she was speaking to me, her gaze was directed towards Evan, who was fighting far away.

The emotions in her eyes seemed complex.

‘Is there something else I don’t know?’

A slight curiosity crossed my mind, but now was not the time for that.

My undead minions were already rushing toward the monster that appeared to be about 3 meters tall.

‘Destroy them all.’

I raised my sword after giving the command for the undead to leap forward freely.

I don’t know what that monster is.

But I can’t let it block my path.

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