The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

"Oof… Oof…"

Seol’s heart screamed at the sight of Azanic’s true form. It was a different shock from when he had faced Irizard.

Since he needed to face the dragon alone, perhaps it was only natural that he would have a greater shock. Leaving aside confronting him, could he even escape safely?

Seol rushed across the field.

Not too fast, not too slow.

"Oof… Oof…"

There were many stories about dragons in Pandea.

Among the Transcendent beings that had been passed down through oral traditions, dragons were probably the only ones so revered that many people talked about them.

Was it a means to make the fearless protagonists who confronted them stand out more?

Most of these stories were probably fiction, or they might have had more than one heart.

He immediately felt a sense of inferiority from the beauty imbued in their overwhelming physique and their suffocating presence. And yet… there was also the exhilaration that came once you realized you were confronting such a being.

Seol laughed as he ran. He hadn't noticed the smile across his mouth.

He was smiling while running.

It was always like this.

A while ago, while making his pieces run in the Old Pit, he wondered if it made him a horrible and lowly person to hide in safety while his pieces suffered. But now that he thought about it, he realized it was a misconception—he just enjoyed the thrill.

This was truly the final piece that suited him the best.

"Ahahaha-!"

Perhaps all those who confronted dragons were people who went crazy from the immense stimulation.

Fwoosh—!

'Huh…?'

But at some point, his right arm started burning.

[You have been engulfed by Sky Dragon, Azanic’s flames.]

[Azanic's flames cannot be extinguished by conventional means.]

A normal person would have screamed and writhed on the ground.

Slash!

However, Seol used Agony to cut his right arm.

Pwoosh—!

Blood gushed out.

"AGH!"

Only after detaching his burning arm did he roll on the ground.

"Oof… Oof…"

Having reached right in front of the Old Pit, Seol turned around and looked at Azanic, slowly approaching.

"Aren't you going to laugh anymore…?"

"Haha…"

Seol's arm began regenerating. For the first time in a while, Blood of Origin surged from the wound.

"Tancreed. Give me her unfulfilled desire. Then, I will spare your life."

"Oh, are you going to spare me? Then… answer my question first."

Azanic's eyes blazed.

"How dare you…"

"Did you plan to eliminate Tancreed from the start?"

Upon hearing Tancreed’s name, Azanic concluded it was okay to engage in a conversation briefly.

"I don't need dragons who go against my will."

Seol frowned and asked another question.

"Don't you think her disappearance will cause evil to surge in Pandea?"

Azanic shook his head. The path he decided to follow was no longer the one of protecting.

"This land is no longer worth protecting… So the sacred duty has faded as well."

Seol hung his head and groaned in pain as he asked.

"Have you received all the gifts I prepared?"

"I was a bit disappointed by your insincere gifts. They were pathetic."

"It seems you have accepted them all… Then, let me ask one more thing."

Seol posed his final question to Azanic.

"Didn't you meet a man with a mustache?"

"A mustache? What do you…"

Just at that moment.

Flinch…

Azanic felt a chill. Suddenly, he felt as if his blood vessels were being blocked and his blood couldn't flow.

"Cough…"

Hemorrhage.

Black blood spewed from the dragon's mouth.

Seol laughed.

The Underground Garden required one to pass through all three gateways. And to pass through them, you needed to drink all three poisons that Seol had prepared.

Blocking one's nose was useless. After all, they would stick to your body and be absorbed.

"If you pass through the third gateway…"

Seol had recently been feeling a bit anxious about his strength. After all, Jamad and Karen had started to move ahead of him.

He felt that he was still the same. But today, he realized something. The strength he pursued was different from theirs.

It wasn't a strength that could be achieved by fighting…

"You're going to meet Charlie. You lost."

But the kind of strength that allowed you to win without fighting.

[Sky Dragon, Azanic has become addicted to Charlie's Specialty: Coat Steal.]

[This substance wasn’t synthesized by the poison's master.]

[The poison's effect has been downgraded from an incurable disease to a chronic illness.]

[Charlie is visiting.]

Whoosh…

Azanic's eyes lost light. His eyes were bleached white as he found himself standing in a pitch-black space.

"Why…"

As long as he had his authority, no threat could damage his dragon body.

However, for some reason, he couldn’t come back to his senses.

Although he was wearing armor, he felt as if he were naked.

As he turned around, he saw someone standing there.

It was a man wearing a bowler hat.

Although he was bowing his head, his mustache was visible and eye-catching.

'Mustache…?'

- Didn't you meet a man with a mustache?

The man gently took off his hat. He had daggers in both hands.

Fwoosh—!

Azanic created flames in his hands, trying to burn the man up before he could move.

However, at that moment.

'No way…!'

A chilling sensation spread through his body.

Thud…

He vividly felt the daggers piercing and cutting his neck from both sides.

His head floated into the air.

Azanic screamed.

"AGH!"

Yes, this was an illusion.

It was all an illusion.

Even the feeling of his neck being severed must be an illusion.

There was no way his neck would have been severed by a human with him not being able to offer any resistance.

At that moment, a mark was engraved in his heart as he exited the illusion.

[Sky Dragon, Azanic has become addicted to Charlie's Specialty: Coat Steal.]

[Charlie stole Azanic's authority.]

[Sky Dragon, Azanic cannot maintain his authority until Chronic Disease: Paranoia is cured.]

[Authority: Dragon is being taken away.]

[He cannot breathe.]

[All resistances have been reduced by 50%.]

…

Upon emerging from the illusion, he saw Seol laughing. His arm had fully regenerated.

"It seems you've met Charlie."

"You bastard…! What have you done?!"

Grin…

"This is just a greeting. See you next time."

Seol raised his regenerated right hand to his forehead and saluted.

Swoosh…

He then leaned his body and fell into the pit.

Azanic quickly tried chasing after him.

PAANNG—!

If that bastard committed suicide like this, it would be a big problem for him too.

As he approached the pit's entrance at an incredible speed, Seol’s figure was fading into the darkness.

"Do you think I'll let you go?!"

Azanic headed toward the pit.

Because the pit was just the right size for him, he had no choice but to follow the spiral stairs downward.

As if he were a lizard instead of a dragon, his gall was chilled.

The only human who made him feel such fear was the one he had faced in Winged Mountain.

When Azanic had sufficiently descended into the deep pit, another voice echoed from within the pit.

"Dragon…"

At that moment, the dragon's eyes pierced through the darkness and looked at the bottom of the pit.

A hunched-over troll was looking at him with glowing eyes.

His gaze was a struggle.

"The day we meet again…"

Azanic was in a situation where he couldn't use his authority for the time being.

Not only could he not breathe fire, but the advantage of his strong body had also disappeared.

His senses screamed at him to soar high into the sky.

"Damn it—!"

As he spread his wings, a vibration came from the bottom of the pit.

"You’re going down, bastard."

Jamad pulled the earth and extended his fist toward the sky.

[You used Great Shamanic Spell: Stone Fist.]

[You create a large Shadow Hand covered in stone.]

[Stone Fist deals combined Mountain and Shadow damage.]

CRACK—!

A huge Shadow Hand covered with stone soared high.

BOOM—!

"Cough…"

The fist extended toward the flying Azanic and slammed right into his abdomen.

Crack…

The feeling of bones breaking made him groan in pain. However, due to his inherently tough body, he managed not to lose consciousness.

And he realized something.

'These bastards have no next move!'

The energy he could feel from them wasn't that great. So, even if he had to take some damage, counterattacking was the right move.

The reason he plunged back into the pit at high speed was that.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

CRACK—!

Upon reaching the bottom of the pit, Azanic looked around.

Those bastards had disappeared.

He stared intently at the place where they might have disappeared.

From inside the translucent barrier came the voice of a human.

"Oldest tree! We request a meeting!"

Another voice followed.

"How dare you disturb my sleep… Are you prepared?"

Azanic slowly approached the translucent barrier and confirmed that presence.

It was a huge tree—likely the thing filling that old pit.

A massive tree was hiding underground, sleeping.

Azanic had never seen such a big tree in his life.

The tree was much larger than him.

Today was really unlucky.

Sleepyhead said while rubbing his eyes, "So you've helped with garden work. Good, I'll at least talk to you. But…"

Azanic couldn't get close to the tree. The translucent barrier was blocking his entry.

How could such a barrier stop a transcendent being like him?

The reason was that this translucent barrier wasn't ordinary magic. It was Sleepyhead’s authority itself.

Just like Azanic, Sleepyhead was close to being a Transcendent being.

"Is that dragon part of your group?"

Azanic let out a rough breath and glared at Seol. As his eyes blazed and threatened Seol, he waved his hand dismissively.

"Oof, how scary! I met him for the first time here. I've never seen him before."

Azanic lost his mind.

"I'm going to kill you! I-I'll…!"

"I see, okay. Yawn…"

Sleepyhead yawned while looking at Azanic.

"Then…"

Sleepyhead's eyes shone blue.

Soon, Azanic's body was enveloped in blue particles.

"Get out of my garden, lizard."

[Sleepyhead used Authority: Fool's Errand.]

[Sleepyhead has no intention of meeting Sky Dragon, Azanic for the time being.]

[Sky Dragon, Azanic is being teleported to an arbitrary forest.]

Azanic was engulfed by a sensation that felt as if his very existence was being repelled.

Vines wrapped around Azanic.

It really couldn't have been more absurd.

Not only had his authority been sealed by a human and a troll, but he had also suffered physical damage.

While the whereabouts of Tancreed's descendants were important, right now, what mattered most to him was his desire for revenge.

[You have become enemies with Faction: Sky Dragon.]

…

Azanic used all his might to delay the exile and left them a message.

"I'll remember you! I will… definitely… find you all, and…"

Seol waved his hand while smiling.

"There's no need for you to do that."

Whir—!

Jamad came out of Seol's body and laughed at Azanic along with him.

Tantuinu was dumbfounded and just looked around. But as Jamad joined in, Azanic became even more frustrated.

Seol said farewell to Azanic while laughing.

"Next time, we're going to come looking for you…"

It was the second defeat Azanic had ever faced.

"So just wait."