Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 419

It fell so slowly and gracefully that it was hard to believe it had come from the moon.

What should I call this feather-like object that drifted through the moonlight, standing tall like the pillars holding up the sky?

‘… An arrow?’

[Hehe, I never thought a day would come when grace would be bestowed upon a child again. I am pleased.]

Lunaria descended beside Yeon-woo, laughing as if genuinely delighted.

As Yeon-woo watched her floating around like a ghost with a big smile, they leaped toward the arrow.

Naturally, the Demon King wasn’t just going to sit idle either. It was obviously a dangerous object.

A surge of flesh erupted to crush the arrow.

Noel and Yuri didn’t stand in front of it. The Demon Sword’s eye caught sight of the two flying toward it and altered its path.

“If you’re going to give it to me, at least come a little closer…!!”

[But, it’s an object that cannot exist without moonlight. Isn’t it your fault for fighting in a place like this?]

As Yeon-woo grumbled, having grabbed the arrow after clearing a way through the surge of flesh, Lunaria responded with a laugh.

With those words, Yeon-woo, who had been rushing through the flesh, quickly stopped in his tracks, smashing it down with flames.

“… That’s not true, is it?”

[That’s correct.]

Seeing Lunaria say that with a bright smile, Yeon-woo rolled to the side.

The wave of flesh that had been spilling to engulf him brushed past and smashed into the wall of the Demon Castle.

Behind it were the stunned expressions of the demon species. Yeon-woo signaled them to back off with a shushing gesture as he stood under the moonlight.

The moment the moonlight was obscured by the shadows of the Demon Castle, the arrow in his hand sought to vanish with a noise.

What kind of object did they toss at him? It was going to be hard to use.

[If I give it to you, it causes a fuss. Just return it if you don’t want to use it.]

“I was thinking about how to use it properly. I don’t even know what kind of object it is.”

In response to Yeon-woo’s words, Lunaria chuckled, as if she had no intention of revealing anything.

Was she telling him to figure it out himself? What a bothersome goddess.

She was initially a fearsome goddess, but maybe this change to just annoying wasn’t such a bad impression….

Lunaria was the Goddess of the Moon. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was a concept with the most attributes in this world.

She was the goddess of love, the goddess of madness, and also the goddess of the hunt. Naturally, she governed countless other attributes as well.

Perhaps the arrow she took on this form stemmed from her hunting aspect. Or maybe she just made it into an arrow because it suited her.

[Let your imagination run wild.]

Yeon-woo, now convinced by Lunaria’s playful smirk, knew it was a prank to make him remember her, even if just by this.

*

“Yawn.”

Lucrecia stretched out a big yawn. Baek In-hwa and Nea, who walked alongside her, continued their conversation without paying her any mind.

“I’m glad you seem to be doing much better now.”

“Thanks to you.”

Baek In-hwa looked much better than before. She often went out and her complexion had improved since she had shed some various worries.

While she had looked somewhat unstable before, now she could be said to have nearly regained her original self.

Overcoming a demonic possession that had been directly interfered with by the Demon King was no easy feat. Though she seemed to have improved, it was premature to say that she had completely conquered it.

The unpleasant voice still whispered to her ear, urging her to kill the woman beside her and make Choi Yeon-woo hers.

Upon reflection, those words weren’t worth being swayed by. Even in her weakened state, she doubted whether she could defeat herself now; how could she have possibly defeated her previous self?

If she succumbed to those words, it would be her who perished, not the demonic presence. They seemed so presumptuous as to want to kill their master. If it had a physical form, she would have given it a good thrashing….

It was a thought she had held for some time, but now, somewhat waking up mentally, that fact resonated even more within her.

As she did, naturally, the demonic presence also began to weaken.

“Thank you for helping me, Lucrecia unnie.”

“What have I done?”

At Baek In-hwa’s expression of gratitude, Lucrecia burst into a small smile.

Lucrecia had volunteered to be a sparring partner to help Baek In-hwa overcome her demonic possession and relieve her stress.

Of course, that wasn’t why Yeon-woo had left Lucrecia behind. She was left in case the Demon King intervened with the Earth Serpent.

Perhaps, this meant Baek In-hwa was nearing the end of conquering her inner demons.

Once she could eliminate the Demon King’s energy, she could truly say she had overcome it, at which point she would finally surpass that barrier.

With that moment, Baek In-hwa felt a vague certainty.

“… I could be of help to Yeon-woo too, couldn’t I?”

“Well, it’s not impossible. Haven’t you ever helped once so far?”

“I don’t… think that’s the case.”

At Lucrecia’s nonchalant prodding, Baek In-hwa couldn’t deny it, though he couldn’t quite confidently assert otherwise either.

When she was weaker than him, she had often received help from him. Now, with Yeon-woo being stronger than her, the balance had indeed reversed….

Reflecting on this as she brooded, Lucrecia gently patted Baek In-hwa’s head. However, rather than a gentle pat, it felt more like a solid squeeze.

It was evident she wasn’t used to comforting someone like that.

“Don’t worry. He’s the type who will fight tooth and nail to accept help if someone offers it. It might be awkward saying this, but In-hwa, you’re especially a valuable asset.”

“If you think so… then I appreciate it.”

If he heard even such words, it might make him feel better. But would he know that? Probably not. He’s just a cruel one pretending to be good-hearted.

Thinking this, Baek In-hwa turned her head to look at Nea, who seemed oddly quiet, walking with a slightly dazed expression while gazing at the sky.

This had been happening quite frequently lately, and Baek In-hwa wondered if something was up, prompting her to ask Lucrecia.

“Oh, that. She might have been doing it a few days ago.”

“… Doing what?”

Baek In-hwa couldn’t help but feel a massive shock from Lucrecia’s nonchalant reply.

Of course, they were at an age where such things could happen. Maybe they should have been surprised that nothing had happened until now.

Nonetheless, something… just felt off about it….

*

‘No wonder my ears are tingling.’

Yeon-woo thought this as he dodged the Demon King’s attacks, still gripping the arrow.

It wasn’t difficult. Yuri and Noel were doing their best up front to draw the aggro away from him.

“Ugh, hurry up and analyze it!!”

Noel’s voice burst out in a whine. It was a sign that they were both starting to get worn out. The faint wounds on both Noel and Yeon-woo were starting to accumulate.

With no alternate solution in sight, it was practically impossible to kill the Demon King.

Yeon-woo understood that fact, which was why he was currently analyzing the arrow along with Shar.

Divine power was a power entirely different from mana, being exceedingly complex, yet if one had insight, they could gradually unravel its essence from the edges.

The Demon Sword was now completely buried in flesh. The speed of creation was too fast; it was quicker than impacting the Demon Sword, as walls of flesh were erected.

If it was Yuri, she might be able to hit and break the Demon Sword even in this situation, but then the issue of Alkaleon’s law would come into play.

The law that, only heroes could kill the Demon King, resided in a dimension that could not be interfered with even by divine intervention.

It was as if this law was being managed on the same plane as the laws of physics, making it something that wouldn’t yield at all.

[It has no physical properties at all. Dad is holding it, but it’s not really being held. It doesn’t even have weight, right?]

‘Yeah, that’s true. Upon closer inspection, it did seem to have descended as if bathed in moonlight. It’s likely something made from the moonlight itself.’

[As for Tae-oh… Tae-oh isn’t sure! Can I taste it…?]

Coincidentally, this was not something that could be simply handed out for tasting. What if something went wrong? Be it with Tae-oh or the arrow.

“This is tough…!!”

The battlefield of the Demon Castle had become unrecognizable as a structure. Surroundings were enclosed by walls of flesh and all sorts of monsters originating from the Demon King’s flesh were swarming.

Fortunately, the creations that had detached from the body of the Demon King wouldn’t split apart when killed, but the very fact that those things kept being born was the real issue.

Not being able to mitigate, let alone block, the attacks coming from all directions, and having to ignore them all? Even advanced shooting games wouldn’t require such absurdity.

‘… Huh?’

While dodging attacks, Yeon-woo glanced closely at the arrow, suddenly raising his head.

It came to him unbidden, but the weapon given by the deity wasn’t the only one present in this place.

There was also the sword of Solaria, which had a significant connection to the arrow given by Lunaria.

The holy sword ‘Corona.’ Said to have been forged from the outer surface of the sun, this holy sword was one of the most prized relics of the Sunflower Order.

Incredibly sharp and absolutely unbreakable, Yeon-woo knew next to nothing else about it as it was such a mysterious object.

There had been no hints at all. It was nothing but a random thought that popped up.

But Yeon-woo realized that he wasn’t someone who waited for hints from others to act.

What clicked within him was intuition and memory. Suddenly drawing his bow, Yeon-woo set the lunar arrow at the string.

The target wasn’t the Demon King, but Noel. More precisely, the holy sword she held.

[D-Dad!?]

There was a memory. The issue of why the Crescent Moon Order and the Sunflower Order, despite being twin deities’ orders, never acted together had been raised before.

What’s more, it was possible in this world for someone to simultaneously bear the divine marks of multiple deities, like Yeon-woo now.

So why was there no one who used the divine arts of both twin deities at once? Although Lunaria’s divine arts were downplayed compared to Solaria’s, they were by no means useless.

[You’re a bit injured.]

Ignoring Lunaria’s words, Yeon-woo recalled a past conversation he had with a priest of the Sunflower Order. When he expressed his curiosity, he smiled and answered.

“When the divine essence of the Sunflower Order and the divine essence of the Crescent Moon Order clash, it somehow transforms into an attack divine art.”

Such a simple truth. The unity of yin and yang implies harmony, meaning if they are controlled wholly, they can transform into immense power, but if they are unable to be controlled, a rampage is inevitable.

And the divine power of the twin deities was structured in such a way that it would inevitably go rampant the moment they clashed.

The reason is… well, maybe because they’re siblings. After all, how many siblings in the world genuinely like each other?

As the lunar arrow soared, it traced a graceful arc and touched the holy sword. The moonlight arrow melded into the holy sword, which soon began to scatter immense light.

Yeon-woo, possessing insight, was able to grasp the magnitude of that power with ease.

Sunlight and moonlight were intertwining, each trying to push the other away.

[I’ll give it 80 points. It’s not something I want to see from my perspective.]

Yeon-woo’s complexion turned pale. … Did I mess up a bit? I wonder if Noel can control that?

The immense mana that could instantly create something like Sullivan’s special bomb hung precariously in the form of the sword, about to explode at any moment.

(To Be Continued)