<The Night does not Equate to Fear (3)>

Cale wondered if there had ever been a moment like this when he fought.

Nope.

Something like this had never happened.

There had never been a moment that both enemies and allies ended up in stunned silence like this.

Cale, Lock…

Even Ryan…

All three of them looked at each other with blank gazes.

To be more specific, Ryan and Cale were looking at Lock.

Lock was looking at Cale.

Was this really the battlefield where every second was precious?

They all stood there for many seconds completely frozen.

The beautiful rose gold thunderbolt was still striking hard at the black swamp.

The others in the distance could only see the beauty of the rose gold light without being able to see anything else.

“…….”

The First Saint, Ryan.

The Dragon who wished to become a god blankly looked at the divine item.

The sculpture had turned black.

He naturally thought that the divine item was polluted.

This was to be expected.

‘A god is not omnipotent. Gods have weaknesses as well. Do you know why those bastards repress the Demon World?’

The bastard who made a deal with him had explained.

‘We know their weaknesses.’

The Demonic race bastard had explained.

‘Mm. If it is a god with those who worship them… Such as the god of the Beast people or the god of Dwarves… Gods like them… The more they are shunned by the ones worshiping them, the more grudges they receive from their worshipers… If they affect their worshipers negatively or receive negativity from them, their power gets weaker.’

‘If even gods are like that, how easy would it be to destroy a divine item?’

That was the reason Ryan created the black swamp and killed the Beast people.

He used the name of ritual or execution to kill them and let them know in the process.

The god of the Beast people…

He told them that they were dying to pollute the divine item of the Blue Wolf.

‘Even after that’

This black sculpture, the divine item…

‘It wasn’t polluted?’

How was this possible?

Ryan could not understand this situation.

The divine item was not polluted.

The blue light that came when the sculpture broke was definitely not Ryan’s.

The original plan was for a light that was dyed black to seep into Ryan’s heart.

But the blue light that came out of the sculpture, this little Wolf bastard-

‘Yes, it went into that bastard’s mouth.’

Ryan slowly started to scowl.

His mind went blank.

‘And this human bastard also said something.’

He was sure this human bastard said it.

‘Aigoo, whatever shall we do? It doesn’t look polluted. This is why what is inside is more important than what is outside. Got it?’

The meaning behind those was simple.

‘That little Wolf and the human bastard knew that the divine item wasn’t polluted yet.’

Ryan tried his best to calmly think things through.

However, his mind slowly turned white before it became dyed black.

It could not be helped.

‘These inferior beings toyed with me……?’

No matter how much he thought about it, what had just happened could only be explained as these fuckers toying with him.’

Of course, they also seemed shocked because the blue light going into this Wolf bastard’s mouth was out of their expectations as well, but…

‘Yeah.’

That made it more-

Even more annoying.

‘This little Wolf bastard-’

Ryan’s breathing started to become heavier.

If it was the White Snake or that Whale or Tiger he could feel in the distance…

He would have accepted it if an aged and strong enemy was the one to receive the divine item’s power.

‘But the divine item gave its strength to this little cub?’

Furthermore, in addition to this young Wolf that had him by the ankle…

And the even younger Cat tribe kittens…

Ryan.

He was a Dragon born to dominate.

It was the reason he dominated over the animals and the reason he tried to dominate the humans and the Beast people as well since the cataclysmic period.

He was also trying to become a god before the Dragon Lord.

A Dragon like himself that had the attribute of Domination couldn’t forever serve a Lord with a mere time-related attribute.

Domination.

How beautiful was that name?

He was the only one to receive that glorious name.

Receiving a position fitting that name was only natural for him.

That was why he wanted to be the first of the Dragons to become a god, but…

‘Yeah, that was what I was trying to do, but-’

Ryan could feel the final shackle breaking inside of him.

Rip.

Yes, the shackles were being destroyed.

“Haa.”

He scoffed.

The results were clear.

‘I guess I cannot become a god anymore.’

Well, he may have another opportunity to become a god in the future if he slowly prepared again.

‘But the Lord will soon return.’

He would definitely die once the Lord returned.

The Lord was not one to watch as someone stepped in front of him.

He especially could not stand a fellow Dragon being above him.

‘That bastard is extremely paranoid.’

He was too crazy of a bastard to call the great Dragon Lord.

“Kekeke-”

He laughed.

“It’s all over now.”

The corners of his lips started to twist.

“Fuck.”

His voice slowly became louder.

“Damn it! Fuck–!”

The shackles were completely broken now.

Wiiiiiiiiiiing—

A sound resonated in Ryan’s mind.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

His heart, his Dragon heart, started to beat wildly.

‘Yeah.’

It was hard to tell whether he was laughing or crying.

Or maybe he was angry.

Ryan scowled and nobody could see his expression anymore.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

A large amount of blue mana wrapped around his body.

The blue mana shot up to the sky like a blazing mountain fire.

Ryan extended his hand.

Baaaaaang!

There was a loud explosion.

He could see a red-haired human shooting a fiery thunderbolt toward him.

But beyond that-

“Ha!”

He could see another blue flame.

The Silver Wolf…

The blue light was slowly getting larger on that little bastard.

‘It’s because he consumed the divine item.

Yes. It’s because this bastard took the power of the god within the divine item.’

Ryan’s heart beat even harder.

His thoughts moved in one direction.

‘I can’t become a god anymore.

I’ll die soon.

But this bastard might become a god?

No.

Even if he cannot become a god, because he consumed the power of a divine item…

All of the Beast people will worship him, won’t they?

He’ll live like a god even if he cannot become one?

And all of those dumbass Beast people will bow their heads to this little bastard.

Yes.’

“This bastard will dominate over them all.”

Of all creatures that it could have happened to, this bastard was a Wolf and the divine item he consumed belonged to a Blue Wolf.

Everything, everything he had done until now ended up being meaningless. He felt so foolish.

“…I’m going to kill him.”

That was why he had to kill him.

‘Because I cannot become a god…

That little Wolf bastard cannot become a god either.’

Ryan opened his mouth.

His lips were shaking.

He was completely swept up in rage as he shouted.

“Only I have the qualifications!”

Domination.

He was a member of the greatest race in this world and the one to receive the greatest name of them all.

‘That’s me!’

Ryan shot forward toward Lock.

The mountain-like large flame looked as if it would swallow the small blue flame.

Baaaaaang!

However, Cale got in his way.

“Human, I’ll help too!”

Raon came next to Cale as well.

“Me too. I can still do magic.”

Maren was with Raon as well.

However, Cale did not have the means to say anything to the two young Dragons who came to help him.

Raon didn’t expect a response either.

“Human, that bastard has gone crazy!”

Ryan was visible through the blue flames.

His body was completely covered in scales now and his muscles were bulging like armor, extremely firm all over the body.

He was over two times as tall as Cale now.

His appearance was extremely weird now and could not be called human or Dragon.

‘Shit.’

Cale was not cowering from Ryan but still found the situation to be troublesome.

– Cale. I think we will need to use more strength to purify this?

The cheapskate spoke cautiously while Cale was using the Indestructible Shield.

The black swamp…

That thing was still not purified.

‘Fuck!

I thought you said four to five times the usual was enough to purify all of it.’

– It’s not enough. This is a bit weird. I don’t think they only used dead mana for this. I am capable of only purifying the dead mana, but even that is not easy right now.

‘Fuck!’

Yes. There was no way it would be easy.

This was something created by a black mage who could easily break Raon and Eruhaben’s spells.

Of course, he was sure that there was some scheme through the God of Chaos involved with it.

‘Let’s first decide our priorities.’

Cale opened his mouth to speak.

“What happens when a Dragon overloads?”

Maren answered his question.

“If they cannot be suppressed, the Dragon heart explodes.”

The Dragon heart was a large concentration of mana.

“It will self-destruct. Then this forest and, if extreme, even the desert will be wiped out.”

It meant that everybody would die.

“You could teleport to escape, but…”

Most of the people here were not able to do that.

“And no matter what we expect, I’m sure it will be worse than that. Ryan has absorbed a significant amount of the foundation of this world. He has probably absorbed the most of the Three Saint Dragons. This Dragon self-destructing means that his Dragon heart, as well as a portion of the foundation of the world, will explode.”

Cale made a decision after hearing that.

‘Get rid of the black swamp first.

If this overloading bastard handles and explodes with this black liquid, we are all dead.’

Even if they manage to save Aipotu, this area would turn into dead land.

‘And-’

He had this inkling that this black liquid would not be good for the foundation of this world.

This place had an entrance to the foundation of this world.

‘Get rid of the swamp and stop Ryan.’

Epley or the black mage…

He would leave them to the others for now.

‘If I am not enough-

I’ll call the others to help me first stop Ryan.

I’ll think about the rest later.’

Of course, he prepared for the worst as well.

“Raon. Be prepared to cast teleportation at any time.”

If all else fails, I’ll at least send Raon and the children away.

– Cale. I’ll strike down once more?

The cheapskate asked.

‘Yes! I’m fine right now so it’s still okay!’

Cale immediately answered.

Ruuuumble-

The sky roared once more.

It was the final purification attempt.

As he did that, Ryan charged toward Cale, to be more accurate, toward Lock.

He seemed to have already lost his sense of reason and could only see Lock.

“Die!”

“He won’t die!”

Raon shouted and cast a spell.

Maren helped as well.

Ooooooo—

Thick mana shields appeared.

The final barrage of fiery thunderbolts fell from the sky.

Cale cast a shield again and got in Ryan’s way.

Baaaaaaaaaang!

Bang!

Baaaaaang!

Whether the explosion was coming because of the thunderbolts or because of Ryan’s fist that was smashing against the shield…

Unexplainable explosions covered Cale in all directions.

The Super Rock mumbled in a low voice at that moment.

– Don’t worry, Cale. You should be okay right now.

Cale suddenly felt the back of his neck go cold.

– I turned your body solid.

That was correct.

The Super Rock had fortified Cale’s body.

– You should be fine for now.

Cale’s mouth opened again.

“Fuck—!”

‘It looks like I’m about to faint again.’

Cale stopped while shouting in annoyance.

“Aaaaaaaaahh!”

He heard a terrible shriek behind him.

“Lock, what’s wrong?!”

He heard Raon’s anxious voice and Cale got chills on his back.

Bang, bang! Baaaaang!

Ryan’s magic and fists relentlessly destroyed the shields.

Raon cast some more shields.

Even with Cale on the inside blocking as well…

Cale turned his head after sensing something that gave him chills.

“Human, Lock is, Lock is acting like the first time he went berserk!”

He then saw it.

“Lock has also gone nuts!”

He could see Lock being crazy as Raon mentioned.

However, it was a bit different from Ryan’s craziness.

“Human, but he seems only half nuts!”

Lock seemed to be barely holding onto his consciousness.

That was the truth.

When the blue light first entered Lock’s mouth…

‘Why?

Why did the divine item’s power come into my mouth?

And I ate it?

The divine item is something to save the Beast people. It is their hope.

But that thing ended up in my mouth?’

Lock fell into a chaotic state.

It was at that moment.

Lock saw an illusion.

Everything turned black.

There was a blue flame at the center of it.

It was so small that it resembled a dot.

He then heard a voice.

It was a voice that he could not tell was male or female, old or young.

However, the stern yet gentle voice spoke to him as if to teach him, as if it was a teacher teaching a student.

– Whether human or animal… Regardless of the mask I am wearing, I am still me.

Lock looked at the blue light.

The small dot burning up like a flame…

– I can see your true nature.

The divine item was speaking.

– The appearance of a large Wolf.

Lock accepted that assessment.

He was big.

He was enormous.

He easily towered over the Tigers now.

The divine item continued.

– A cowering scaredy cat.

Lock flinched.

A scaredy cat.

That was him.

‘Yes, that is my true nature.’

How hard had he been working to hide that?

No matter how large he got, his true nature was still that of a scaredy cat.

‘Yes, I am a scaredy cat.’

Lock subconsciously bit down on his lips.

‘Yeah, I am definitely a scaredy cat.

There’s no way a divine item would say something wrong, right?’

Yes. The divine item was right.

Lock had that thought while looking at the blue flame.

But for some weird reason…

‘I’m glad you are here.’

He recalled Cale’s words.

Being called a scaredy cat did not feel good.

He wanted to refute it.

‘No.’

But Lock shook his head.

I am a scaredy cat and I am trying my best to overcome it.

Lock knew himself very well.

That was why he always needed courage.

He tried to control his thoughts, but it oddly made him feel even worse to the point that he was biting down even harder on his lips.

He subconsciously made a comment.

“…How long do I have to be a scaredy cat?”

Shouldn’t he be done with that by now?

The moment his inner thoughts blurted out…

Lock flinched.

The blue dot became bigger.

No, the light came closer to him.

Lock realized that the light was not small. He was just looking at it from a distance.

He heard the voice.

– The appearance of a large Wolf. A cowering scaredy cat.

As his eyes started to shake…

– That is just hiding your true nature.

Lock’s eyes opened wide.

– I can see your true self.

The blue light came even closer.

He could see the blue flame.

He could also see the existence surrounded by the blue flame.

It was a small wolf.

– What kind of existence do you want to be?

Lock thought of Cale as soon as he heard that.

He thought about Cale’s back.

The wolf spoke.

– You are a protector.

A protector.

Lock subconsciously extended his hand toward the wolf in the blue flame.

The small wolf approached Lock.

The moment Lock and the wolf made contact…

“Ugh!”

Lock took in a deep breath.

The darkness had disappeared.

“Aaaaaaaaahh—!”

He felt pain throughout his entire body.

It also felt like he was going to lose control of his body.

Had he been like this during his first berserk transformation?

The moment Lock had that thought…

They heard a voice.

– You have already become the existence you wish to become.

You are already a protector.

Lock’s sight became clear the moment he heard those words.

A blue aura started to come out of his body.

The power violently surged.

However, Lock could see Cale and Raon’s concerned gazes.

He could also see Ryan’s angry gaze as he tried to break the shields Cale and Raon had created to protect him.

Lock clenched his fists.

He opened his mouth to speak.

This power…

“Young master-nim, just like during my first berserk transformation-”

He could not express himself very well.

However, Cale immediately understood what he wanted.

“You want to fight to your heart’s content?”

It made him smile.

“Alongside me?”

Lock quickly shook his head no. But even that was not easy to do.

His flame was growing larger and his body could not handle the power.

That was why it was painful.

“Go.”

Cale stepped aside for him.

Lock walked past him.

He heard Cale’s voice at that moment.

“I’ll support you from the back.”

Lock no longer feared anything after hearing those words.

He had always wondered what his role would be in Cale’s group.

He could not fight as well as Choi Han, nor did he have long-ranged attacks like Mary or Rosalyn.

So if he had to do something…

‘Defending-’

Since he was large…

‘Should I be able to defend?’

He had learned something while looking at Cale.

Defending could sometimes be the greatest attack.

‘I can do it.’

He felt like he could do it now.

Maybe it was because of this overflowing strength or because his sense of reason was gone due to this feeling that reminded him of his first berserk transformation…

He had no idea, but…

‘I’m not scared.’

He was not scared of this overloading Dragon at all.

This blue mana-

He felt like it wouldn’t hurt even if it reached him.

– I’ll help you out temporarily.

He heard the voice of the divine item again.

Lock opened his mouth.

“Huuuuuuuu huuuuuuuuu.”

The flame roared around his body as if his breathing had released the shackles.

The size was not lacking compared to Ryan’s.

He did not hold back his overflowing power.

“Ahhhhh—!”

He let out a roar that was so loud that it shook the whole sky.

The blue flame surrounding the silver Wolf…

The way the blue light reflected around the silver Wolf resembled-

“The Blue Wolf-”

It made him look like a Blue Wolf.

The White Snake got chills on her body as she watched.

Hooooooooooowl-

Grrrrrr—

The animals that had been charging while growling…

The moment Lock shouted and released his blue flames…

They all stopped growling.

They were now looking at the blue flame.

“Ah.”

The animals, starting with the wolves and especially the predatory animals, bowed their heads.

They were all bowing in Lock’s direction.

They were also silent.

There was a saying among people.

At night, the silent forest is the most dangerous.

When you could not even hear the birds or animals in a forest, that could mean that someone or something was aiming for your life.

The silence of the night had come.

The rose gold light disappeared through the silence.

Grey ashes started to flutter with the wind instead.

Cries soon mixed in with the ashes and wind.

The sorrowful cries of numerous beings…

It was the cries of the Beast people that flowed out once the black liquid was purified.

Their last cries that finally made it out of the swamp shot up into the air, and as they passed by Lock’s blue flame while resembling snowflakes heading from the ground to the sky…

“I’ll kill you!”

Ryan, who had lost his sense of reason, charged toward Lock.

Baaaaaang!

Lock grabbed Ryan’s fist through the loud explosion.

He did it extremely easily.

He then smiled.

This smile was different from Lock’s usual smile.

It was closer to the smile of a wolf who had found a prey while unable to control its own strength.

—

Translator’s Comments

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