Chapter 261: 261
Chapter 261: Rip It (2)
Chimera . A man-made monster .
The ancient Dragon groaned after hearing that word .
‘This is something that goes against the laws of nature . ’
It was different than a mutant or a variable .
Both of those were things that happened naturally, while a chimera was not like those things .
“Nine hundred years ago…”
The ancient Dragon almost gasped as the Dragon half-blood continued to speak .
He had expected the Dragon half-blood to have completed his second growth phase, however, living 900 years was almost the full lifespan of a Dragon .
How was that possible?
Eruhaben kept his mouth shut as he waited for the Dragon half-blood to continue .
The Dragon half-blood took some breaths before slowly taking them on a journey through the past .
“I was told that I was the only surviving child . That person told me to call him, 'father . ’ Since he said I was the only surviving child, he wasn’t my real dad . Ah, you're probably curious about who my father is . ”
The Dragon half-blood could see the young Dragon observing him from right behind Cale .
The dark blue pupils showed wariness, sadness, as well as many other emotions . The Dragon half-blood thought that they were very innocent emotions .
‘He's young . That Dragon is really young . ’
That fact made the Dragon half-blood sigh as he continued to speak .
“My father is the, ‘White Star . ’ The leader of Arm . ”
Raon flinched while the ancient Dragon groaned . Even Witira, who was standing outside the cell, could not help but gasp .
However, the Dragon half-blood started to laugh again after seeing Cale's gaze .
Cale seemed to be inspecting him .
The still focused gaze was coldly trying to determine whether he was lying or telling the truth .
‘Scary bastard . ’
The Dragon half-blood did not stop himself from laughing as he asked .
“Don't you want to catch that person?”
Arm’s leader . The White Star .
The person who kept the Dragon half-blood in that cave .
“Too bad . Even I have only seen him with a mask on . Well, only his eyes were covered, so I did see his mouth . ”
The Dragon half-blood had only seen the mouth of the person who was laughing as the white crown ate his blood .
He still heard that laughter whenever he went to bed . That was the only noise he had heard while staying inside that dark cave .
The Dragon half-blood pushed that memory aside as he looked toward Cale . He heard Cale's voice the moment they made eye contact .
Cale had noticed something odd in the Dragon half-blood's statement .
“The White Star is human?”
The Dragon half-blood had said, ‘that person . ’
The Dragon half-blood started to smile .
“Isn’t it weird?”
Mm .
Eruhaben brushed his face with his hand .
Everybody was tense as they waited for the Dragon half-blood to continue . Only the Dragon half-blood’s weak voice could be heard .
"The White Star is human . However, he has been alive for 900 years . He doesn’t even have the scent of death on him . What do you think?”
“He doesn’t have the scent of death on him?”
Eruhaben interjected into the conversation .
The Dragon half-blood made eye contact with the ancient Dragon .
“Yes, Eruhaben . I'm sure you would have figured out my situation right now . I am only a half-blood, but I still do have some Dragon's blood in me . Dragons are sensitive to the scent of nature and death . That is why they are able to notice dead mana right away, but I could not smell even the smallest amount of the scent of death on him . ”
Eruhaben’s expression stiffened up .
“…You know who I am?”
“That person gave the order to destroy your house, and I was the one to deliver that message . ”
“Ah . ”
Witira’s gasp filled the cell .
The puzzle pieces were falling into place one by one . However, the biggest question still remained .
Cale's mind was turning into a complicated mess .
‘Something is weird .
The White Star, Arm’s leader . Who is that person?
How can a human live 900 years?
Furthermore, the bastard with half Dragon's blood said that he didn’t smell the scent of death on him .
Was that naturally possible?’
“What do you think?”
Cale made eye contact with the Dragon half-blood again .
“Isn't that person disgusting? Don't you want to kill him?”
That person . The human who told him to call him father .
“That’s how I feel . ”
The Dragon half-blood wanted to kill that person . No, he still wants to kill that person . He would do it right now if he could .
The anger and sorrow from losing his strength was visible in the Dragon half-blood’s pupils .
“My first memory is of that cave . When I opened my eyes and met that person, this is what he told me . ”
Approximately 900 years ago . He could still feel the coldness of those cave walls . The voice that was even colder than those walls was his first memory .
“ ‘I placed a Dragon's heart inside your body . ’ ”
Cale recalled what Eruhaben said as soon as he saw the Dragon half-blood .
‘He ate a Dragon's heart . ’
‘Did that mean that he had a Dragon's heart inside of him?’
Cale turned toward Eruhaben, who was frowning as he could not hide the shock he was feeling . He could not get an answer from that response . However, Cale got his answer as the Dragon half-blood continued to speak .
“I ate a Dragon's heart every so often after that . ”
‘…Is eating a Dragon's heart different than having it placed inside of him?’
Cale was speechless as he looked toward the Dragon half-blood .
‘Just how many lives were killed to keep this bastard alive?’
However, he could not easily share his thoughts out loud . The Dragon half-blood’s eyelids were slightly shaking . He was thinking about his past .
900 years ago . It was an extremely long amount of time .
“Do you know why I have black hair and black eyes?”
Only one Dragon per generation has a specific color .
“It's because it's all jumbled up . ”
All you get is darkness when all of the colors mix together .
“The colors started to mix together as I ate the hearts of different Dragons . ”
There was a Dragon’s heart mixed into his heart . That heart melted into his heart like a tattoo before starting to take over his body every time he ate another Dragon's heart .
Then one day, his eyes, hair, and scales all turned black .
The Dragon half-blood thought that the color matched his situation well .
“That person seemed to want to make me finish my third growth phase . ”
He wanted to turn the Dragon half-blood into a full Dragon .
The Dragon half-blood did not know why .
“However, reaching the second growth phase in 900 years was my limit because I was a created being . I ate a total of four Dragon hearts until I reached my second growth phase . If you count the original Dragon's heart within my heart, I was made with the lives of five Dragons . ”
“…Unbelievable . ”
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Eruhaben could not help but share his sentiments .
‘He killed five Dragons?
It is six if you include the Eastern continent's ancient Dragon, Olienne . ’
A minimum of six Dragons .
It was not easy to do such a thing .
No, it was almost impossible to do that .
He would have faced them individually as Dragons live alone, however, they are not weak . Dragons are strong, even if they are alone .
But a human managed to kill so many Dragons?
‘…He is not human . ’
The ancient Dragon who had spent 1,000 years in the world unlike the Dragon half-blood who spent the majority of his life in a cave came to a conclusion based on his experiences .
The bastard who killed the Dragons was not human .
“Eruhaben . ”
The Dragon half-blood looked toward Eruhaben and started to laugh .
He too did not believe what Arm’s leader, his father, had done . He did not believe it even as he ate the hearts that were delivered to him .
However, he was able to figure it out after coming out into the world .
"Dragons are existences that live alone . They are selfish and ill-tempered . That is why nobody knows when they die . ”
A Dragon isolates itself . Some of the most severe cases don't even make a family . They didn’t want to create baggage that would hinder their growth .
That was their weakness .
Nobody knew when they died .
There was nobody to cry for them .
There was nobody to come save them .
“Do you know why we finally aimed for you?”
Eruhaben could read the emotion that went past the Dragon half-blood’s eyes .
That was a look of envy . This Dragon half-blood was envious of the ancient Dragon .
“Eruhaben, you are less selfish . Unlike other Dragons, you had a lot of Dragons that you kept in contact with . You also helped them out . ”
This was the reason Arm did not touch Eruhaben, who was an older Dragon than the Eastern continent’s ancient Dragon, Olienne . There were many lifeforms around him .
Arm did not know why this was the case .
However, Eruhaben started to frown as he realized the reason .
Maybe it was because he had this, ‘dust,’ or, ‘powder,’ attribute, but he treasured those beings that were useless and weaker than him . He didn’t know why he was drawn to them .
He protected young Dragons during their first growth phases, the World Tree, the Elves, and even saved some of the Elves’ lives .
Eruhaben lived alone, but did not choose to isolate himself .
“That was why you ended up being the last one . ”
The ancient Dragon closed his eyes and asked once the Dragon half-blood finished speaking .
“Was my heart meant to be yours as well?”
The Dragon half-blood shook his head at the ancient Dragon’s question . He looked at the young Dragon who was glaring at him and Cale Henituse, who was looking at him with a stoic expression, and responded back .
“No, not for me . That person just said he needed it, but I don't know what he was going to use it for . ”
He had just given the order to invade Eruhaben’s lair to someone else .
The Dragon half-blood took in the beautiful appearance of the ancient Dragon who had lived a similarly long amount of time .
The real thing was beautiful compared to this ugly fake . Even the white gold color that he had imitated was nothing compared to the real thing .
“…Huuuu . ”
The Dragon half-blood let out a deep sigh . He had spoken too much given his body's current condition .
He turned his gaze toward Cale . The young Dragon was quietly looking at him . Although they were both black, he could see a beautiful black skin and dark blue eyes that were unlike his ugly self .
He had never worried about becoming weak during the first and second growth phases . It was because he always thought that it wouldn't matter if he died from the pain .
However, he felt that it was a bit unfair . It was unfair for him to die without being able to live . That alone was what got him through his growth phases .
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Raon’s mouth opened a bit before closing again after making eye contact with the Dragon half-blood . He was a smart Dragon, however, Raon did not know how to express his current emotions .
That was why he could only look back at the Dragon half-blood’s black eyes .
Eruhaben was also looking at the Dragon half-blood with a complicated expression . This was someone who had lived almost as long as he had but had also taken the lives of five of his fellow Dragons . Even then, he found it to be complicated .
It was at that moment .
“I’ll come again . ”
This calm voice filled the cell .
It was Cale .
He stood up from where he was crouching .
“…Again?”
Cale nodded his head as if it was obvious after the Dragon half-blood asked in confusion .
“There's still time left for you to make your decision . ”
Cale had given him one week to think things over . There were still a few days to go for that . However, the Dragon half-blood could not understand Cale’s thoughts, so he asked .
“…I was made through the lives of five Dragons . Shouldn’t you kill me right now? Aren’t you angry? I am a cursed being . ”
“Am I someone who will save you?”
The Dragon half-blood was suddenly at a loss for words .
Cale bluntly told the truth to the Dragon half-blood who seemed to have the wrong idea .
“Whichever decision you make, I am the person who will kill you . ”
Whether he dies now, or he lives in pain for six months before his body exploded .
Either way, the Dragon half-blood was going to die .
“I'm just giving you the choice regarding how you will die . ”
Cale would just change what he takes and how he takes it from the Dragon half-blood based on his decision .
“It's your life, so you decide what you want to do . ”
Raon looked back and forth between Cale, who turned away from the Dragon half-blood without any hesitation, and the Dragon half-blood, who was staring at Cale, before flying toward Cale . He then saw the look on Cale's face and hung onto his back .
“…I will stay here a bit longer . ”
“Please do whatever you wish, Eruhaben-nim . ”
Eruhaben looked toward Cale, who responded back to him as if it was nothing, before looking back at the Dragon half-blood .
“Let’s chat for a bit . ”
“…Whatever you want . ”
The ancient Dragon and the Dragon half-blood's conversation was about to start .
At that moment, Cale stopped right before stepping out of the cell and asked .
“Hey, what is your name?”
Cale could hear the Dragon half-blood respond after a moment of silence .
“…My father, that person told me he would give me a name when I became a Dragon . ”
However, the Dragon half-blood was someone who could not become a real Dragon .
Cale started to frown .
‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have asked . ’
Cale suppressed the annoying feeling rising up through his body as he headed out of the cell .
Witira bowed toward the ancient Dragon Eruhaben who waved her away and followed behind Cale .
Tap, tap .
Footsteps were the only thing that could be heard in the dark cave that was pitch black other than from the light of the torch . Witira and Raon were both quietly peeking at Cale .
Cale was cursing this fantasy world in his mind .
‘What a rotten world!’
‘Arm, the White Star, goddamn it, there’s nothing in this, ‘The Birth of a Hero,’ world that I like . ’
He wanted to flip everything over, but his glass body didn’t have the strength to do that .
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‘Damn it!’
Cale's annoyed footsteps were rough and angry .
Cale continued to walk in a way that showed his emotions as he headed for the entrance . They soon arrived at the entrance of the underground cave .
“Young master Cale, shall I open it?”
Witira spoke up and tried to walk in front of him, however, Cale shook his head . He pulled at the door in his way as if he was taking out all of his frustration onto it .
‘Aigoo . ’
He was then shocked .
Bang!
He closed the door back .
Cale put his hand over his heart .
‘Wow .
Wow, damn it . ’
Cale took a deep breath and opened the door open .
“Hey, why are you like this? No, when did you get here?”
He was so shocked that he almost stuttered .
It could not be helped .
“…Cale-nim . ”
Choi Han was standing right outside the door .
‘Why is this punk always in front of the door?’
Cale was frowning after having been scared by Choi Han standing in front of the door many times already . He was about to say a few things to Choi Han before turning his head after hearing a noise .
However, Witira’s eyes turned odd after seeing Choi Han’s gaze .
“Young master-nim!”
“Young master Cale!”
Cale could see Rosalyn and Lock running toward them . The Killer Whale Archie was shaking his head as he grumbled and walked behind them .
“Cale-nim . ”
“Huh?”
The gentle and innocent voice made Cale look back at Choi Han .
Choi Han handed two documents to Cale .
“I got the agreements from them . ”
Two of the three northern kingdoms .
There were the signatures of Norland and Askosan on these documents .
Cale started to smile .
‘They took care of it faster than I expected . They truly are like munchkins . Very efficient . ’
Cale’s gaze headed toward the other side of the cliff .
He could barely make out the flag of the Indomitable Alliance .
There were spotlights on the flags in order to keep them illuminated even during the night .
It was time .
“Young master Cale!”
“Miss Rosalyn . ”
Cale smiled at Rosalyn, who approached him and started to speak .
“Now we just need to strike the Bear tribe and the Flame Dwarf tribe from the back . ”
The end to the war was not far away .
The Indomitable Alliance’s flag .
It was finally time to rip it down .