Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 372: The World is Burning Bright

The world was ablaze. Indeed, Yeon-woo might have truly wanted to burn this rotten world.

Regardless of the nonsense, everywhere I looked was engulfed in flames.

The Demon King did not regenerate. Instead, with all the pieces of meat severed, eyes, noses, and mouths sprouted on each chunk, and they began to move.

[Aah, it’s hot, so hot! It’s way too hot!]

The Demon King let out a ridiculous scream as it summoned dark matter. The hissing sound of the matter disintegrating, sizzling meat cooking, and that intense smell assaulted Yeon-woo’s senses. I must grill some meat when I get home.

Of course, Yeon-woo wasn’t just watching the Demon King fanning the flames. Since that dark matter was out of reach, there was no choice but to set fire to other parts.

“Second launch!”

[Wow!!]

At Yeon-woo’s shout, two kids excitedly created flames. Countless red fireballs emerged behind them, swooping into the areas void of dark matter, bursting into explosions.

[Those naughty ones!]

After going this far, it seemed even the Demon King was getting angry, roaring and conjuring waves of dark matter.

It could cover the entire space with dark matter, but by not doing so, perhaps it was a burdensome task for the Demon King.

Yeon-woo immediately flapped their wings and soared into the sky. However, this time, flying wasn’t quite free.

It was a somewhat strange sensation. It felt like trying to ascend only to be pulled down. If one suddenly flipped their perception around, it was reversed again.

Repeating this, Yeon-woo gradually flew upward.

‘Did the laws change in the meantime…!?’

At first, the rules of flight didn’t apply, but it seemed they hastily added them once Yeon-woo could fly.

Unlike other laws, it felt as if it was interfering with Yeon-woo’s senses.

If I had to express it in words, it would be the law of reversal. At every moment, Yeon-woo’s sense of direction twisted.

Stumbling, but managing to dodge the waves, tentacles and unknown beings approached from all directions.

Normally, I would have evaded them, but with my senses completely twisted, avoiding those entirely was futile. It seemed even cutting them down with a sword would be difficult.

“I have no choice.”

In situations like this, there’s no method. Either take the hit or sweep them all away.

Naturally, I had no intention of taking the hit. Yeon-woo summoned mana infused with will. The first thought that popped up was lightning. Enveloping my body in lightning would surely lead to paralysis.

However, I quickly changed that thought. Paralyzing the nervous system would be pointless. Those tentacles and beings were likely just chunks of meat devoid of anything inside.

Ice, then? Deciding this, Yeon-woo enveloped themselves in cold air and unleashed it all at once. Whoosh! A fierce blizzard erupted, encasing Yeon-woo’s body.

Everything flying towards Yeon-woo froze in overwhelming output, crashing down and shattering.

Nothing complemented Yeon-woo’s ice-element magic better. Even without thinking too hard, substantial power emerged, and using cold elemental mana magnified that power enormously. It was sheer efficiency and high damage.

Yeon-woo immediately dropped their body from the air. Folding in the wings and relaxing the body, this loss of sense of direction was somewhat bewildering. No matter how much of a master, one’s physical senses twisted made it hard to fully express their skills.

Like driving a nail in, the body was positioned swiftly downward. Observing the scene, Chaos giggled softly.

[How did you like the new gimmick? Was it fun?]

Every word that came out of that annoying mouth was infuriating. Yeon-woo, known for provoking others, found themselves at a loss for words against that creature.

Thinking of firing back out of frustration, it seemed there would be no gain, so they kept quiet.

Regardless, things were progressing well. The remaining flames gnawed at the Demon King’s space. The Demon King was fervently evolving, but much of it was already burning away, exposing a space that was hard to describe.

It was reasonable to assume that the outside of this body connected to an unknown space.

I wondered what would happen if I killed the Demon King in this state, but that was something to ponder later. Right now, the priority was to take down the Demon King.

With that thought, Yeon-woo took a deep breath. Dragon Breath wasn’t something one could shoot many times. But at this moment, I had no choice but to unleash it. Without doing so, I couldn’t shatter the entire space.

With the firm resolve, Yeon-woo inserted their feet into the ground. Bones that sprouted like roots dug into the earth, firmly anchoring the body.

The palm opened wide. It felt like an indescribable passage was forming between the arms.

The mana organ beside the lung connected to an unknown passage. This allowed breath to burst forth through their palm at any time.

There was a reason for gathering fire on one side. Now that about one-third of the space was completely burnt away, Yeon-woo only needed to focus on destroying the rest.

The Repulsor Gun had a certain romance to it.

*

Amid the broken walls, Choi Yeon-woo extended their arms out. Behind them, completely burnt remnants came into view.

Baek In-hwa had effortlessly read that intent. There was a reason. She had also thought of the same method.

“…!! War Leader, destroy everything!!”

“Ooh, now you’re giving commands? Sounds good!!”

Despite being lower in realm, the War Leader didn’t mind. They swung their twin axes down as if planting them into the ground.

Boom!! With a loud explosion, the earth buckled. The attacks didn’t cease. Bang, bang, bang bang bang!! The speed of the axe swings accelerated, completely demolishing the ground.

An empty space revealed itself, a void that could only be described as the universe. That sight sent a shiver down my spine.

Fortunately, they weren’t ejected into the cosmos. There seemed to be an unknown wall between the universe and this space, as chunks of ice that fell into the cosmos rolled atop it.

In the blink of an eye, as the two masters, no longer on the defensive, began to attack aggressively, the space began being pushed back instantly. It was like mowing grass with a brush cutter.

Baek In-hwa wasn’t idle either. Among the martial arts of the Ice Palace, she focused on pure destructive power with her Blizzard Cannon. Thus, she concentrated on breaking the walls and ground using that technique.

[You guys too? Just because I couldn’t pay attention for a moment, you are getting carried away.]

With a tongue click and a teasing tone, the Demon King summoned mana. The spread-out mana transformed directly into dark matter.

Unknown entities pressed in on them from all directions. Dealing with that was up to Baek In-hwa.

Thick ice pillars soared high, not the thin, fragile ice of shallow frost created by the Ice White Divine Technique. This was the full manifestation of that technique’s capability.

While she couldn’t freeze them instantly at a level of freezing moons, blocking them broadly in this manner was the most efficient way.

The ice shot skyward. It was already established that dark matter could not be frozen through repeated experiments.

Thus, she blocked with physical force. If the wall was erected using the Blizzard Technique, even the Demon King would take time to seep through.

The Demon King was watching them, but they no longer focused on the Demon King. It was as if they were tearing down a building, staring straight ahead.

Explosions erupted, and now only one-third remained. However, Baek In-hwa had surpassed the limits she could hold. Nearing mana exhaustion, she gasped heavily.

Yeon-woo glanced back and noted that. Recognizing the situation, Yeon-woo pulled out the White that they had staked to the ground. The mana was a bit scarce, but there was enough left to spare.

With only a portion of mana remaining, most was spent withdrawing the Aura Blade. Grasping the long and massive Aura Blade, Yeon-woo charged forward.

“Whoosh!!”

With shadow hands fully inserted, Yeon-woo took a deep breath. The sharp sense of the Dragon’s Flame assisted in gripping the blade of the White closely.

The master’s body, far transcending the human’s physical realm, resonated with the dragon’s physical capabilities, producing unimaginable raw power within Yeon-woo’s arms.

It could be said that the power, stronger than mere humans, was embodied in the large sword created by the Aura Blade. But that wasn’t all.

The destructive power of the Aura Blade erupted along the swing’s trajectory. A truly liberating force poured forth, sweeping through the space.

The air entangled in the swing trembled wildly. The crimson might swirling around from the repeatedly swung twin axes puffed up their form. The crimson swirling mass and the massive blade of light swept through the space.

An attack, deserving of being called a seasonal miracle, unleashed the maximum power that the two masters could wield, coloring everything in sight with white light.

Baek In-hwa couldn’t help but turn her gaze away. The power was excessive. The brilliance was so brilliant it was blinding, just by taking it all in with her eyes.

[You, insolent creatures…!!]

The Demon King’s roar, practically a scream, erupted, but was erased by the sheer pressure of the strike created by the two. Absurdly so; it felt refreshing enough to ease the headache that had been pounding.

Amid that destructive sound that was almost indescribable, Baek In-hwa quietly buried her face.

Baek In-hwa had to lie flat, waiting for this moment to pass. If she could do something, it would be afterward.

*

Whoosh, only the hollow wind blew. In the round space, nothing remained. The only thing visible was the cosmos beyond. It seemed the Demon King… was gone. Whether dead or not remained uncertain.

I hesitated to speak hastily. Isn’t that often called a resurrection spell? I had no desire to create such a blunder.

As the tensed silence dragged on, and Yeon-woo gradually relaxed, a voice suddenly echoed in their head.

[You thought you defeated me?]

Hehehe, hehehehe. An unsettling laughter resonated. Yeon-woo let out a deep sigh.

Coincidentally, it was right before that. Since I hadn’t completely relaxed, I could respond in time.

The flesh that had completely vanished from beneath surged up in bubbles. All around, in every direction, it was the same. Unfortunately, it seemed that simply destroying everything visible in this space wasn’t the correct answer.

Then what was the solution? Finding a core that could kill the Demon King seemed impossible. After all, I had destroyed everything in sight and still couldn’t find it.

‘…Is it truly immortality?’

Yeon-woo’s vision faded slightly. Still, I couldn’t just stand idle. With that thought, I gripped the sword tightly.

[I figured it out, I think… Dad…!!]

To Yeon-woo, Tae-oh’s voice echoed with a shout.

(To be continued in the next episode)