Episode 182
EPISODE.91
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─Chik!
No matter how hard the outer skin of the giants was, it couldn’t withstand the temperature of the sun.
A spear with a temperature close to that of a sunspot explosion pierced his chest in an instant.
Before you feel pain, your nerves burn.
The burrowing flames exploded from the inside, eating tendons, muscles and bones beyond.
It is a concept that deserves to be said to melt rather than burn.
Briareos’ eyes turned upside down.
─Gureuk…!?
His body began to swell as if it would explode at any moment from the flames spreading like a ripple.
The moment when red flames are clearly revealed under the skin!
Quaaaaaaaa!
The aftermath of the uncontrollable flames surged toward the sky.
It’s called Hongcheon.
The color of the flames spreads out and the entire sky begins to turn red.
Not only covering the entire sky in a radius of several tens of kilometers with flames, but also evaporating all the clouds in the area!
It was literally a sight that set the sky on fire.
[Heh… heh heh…]
Niccolo laughed at the power overwhelmingly surpassing the average 8th circle magic.
[…Is it a type of magic using divine magic?]
Amelia Merwin, a half-blood fairy with more delicate senses, tilted her head and murmured.
If he was hit by an attack like that, he wouldn’t be fine even if he was a mythical giant.
Koo Goo Goong -.
Just as they thought, Briareos’ huge body began to slowly collapse.
bang!
As soon as one knee sank to the floor, the ground began to sway and the large body tilted.
A mass capable of twisting the earth’s axis and causing an earthquake just by impacting it on the ground.
[I need to avoid blood…]
As Arain was about to mutter while protecting her daughter Io’s body, someone’s voice interrupted.
[…Isn’t that falling?]
As someone said, Russell’s new model was falling.
.
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“—Whehehe!!”
Staring at the leaning giant, Russell vomited blood.
My eyeballs were burning, and sparks flew from my temples.
In the empty circle, a sense of exhaustion that was no different from hunger surged up nonstop.
Brahmastra was clearly a magic far beyond Russell’s ability.
In order to bear the huge amount of mana, he used Yonginhwa, albeit partially, and also squeezed his brain power to the limit to shorten the casting time.
The reaction was coming, albeit belatedly.
‘Ah…’
Russell opened his mouth as he felt his body fall like a pendulum with a broken thread as he received the influence of gravity with his whole body without resistance.
There was no need to confirm that Briareos was dead.
[You have completed the mission.]
[As a reward…]
The constant ringing in my ears was doing the job for me.
Blinking his eyes several times in his blurred consciousness, Russell gazed up at the sky.
I can feel the red sky created by the spreading flames still filling the front.
Hongcheon. The sky looked like a red river flowing through it, making Russell feel dizzy and swim in the water.
Every time the body turned over in the strong wind, the faces of those who were staring at the sky with surprised faces caught my eye.
but they won’t know
The fact that the strength of a properly completed Brahmastra is far greater than this.
that you own only.
Can a power that cannot be properly expressed or controlled be called one’s own?
The answer to that question was clearly ‘no’.
Looking up at the red sky once again, Russell muttered to himself.
‘Someday…’
At the end of those words, Russell’s consciousness snapped.
.
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Russell woke up a few more days later.
‘Ugh…’
Russell groaned as he felt a throbbing pain in his chest the moment he woke up.
Although the circle’s mana, which had been emptied, had recovered considerably, traces of that time still remained in the mana rod, which exceeded its limit and poured out output.
‘Whoa…’
Russell let out a long breath and took care of Mana Road with his Overlord and Wizard Body before slowly opening his eyes.
I checked where I was lying.
The first thing I saw was a dark green ceiling made of cloth.
‘A tent… is it a barracks?’
Seeing how large it was, it didn’t seem to be the small tent used by the investigation team, and it seemed to be the barracks used by the 7th Corps.
‘While I was fainting, I escaped the ruined Great Forest and came to the 7th Legion’s camp…’ It
was right to say that I had fainted for at least a week at least.
‘Maybe more than ten days…’
Thinking so, Russell slowly moved his body.
I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t used my muscles for ten days, or because the aftermath of the battle that day remains.
‘Ugh-!’
The moment I moved my fingertips, a sharp muscle pain surged up my spine all at once to the top of my brain.
I only moved my fingertips, but it was this much pain.
Russell, frowning, slowly expanded his senses.
Gently adjusting his muscles and joints, he carefully raised his body.
‘I’m going to die…’
This is the first time he’s suffered such a wound since the battle with McRae Hughes. It was then.
“Eh benefactor—!”
The entrance to the barracks fluttered and Io’s voice was heard.
Dang-geung-geung-beok!
The hot water and clean towels in her hands were scattered on the floor.
Io ran towards Russell with a startled look on his face.
“You are awake!”
“yes. I’m still a bit sore… but I’m awake for now.”
“oh my god. The medic said he might pass out for the next five days or so…”
At his words, Russell laughed awkwardly.
“Because one recovery is quite good.”
It’s probably because of the power that the Mana Lord and Wizard Body possess, but whatever.
“….”
“….”
While they were awkwardly exchanging glances, it was Russell who spoke first.
“…If you don’t mind, I’ll give you a glass of water. My throat is probably burning.”
“Oh yeah!”
Only then did Io, realizing his mistake, hurriedly replied.
I quickly poured water from the kettle on the side.
‘…I wonder why I was so blank.’
Squeak-.
As soon as the teacup was filled with water, Russell, who was accepting it, staggered.
“Ugh.”
The moment he picked up the teacup, the muscles in his right arm throbbed and twisted.
Dang-Geurang-.
The iron cup falls to the floor and rolls around.
‘Is the Mana Road a twisted place?’
I never thought that opening a mana rod on a muscle fiber would bring about this situation.
“Are you all right?”
Io asked as he hurriedly brought a dried bestial trunk and wiped the spilled water.
“It’s a little numb, but it’s okay.”
But the problem is…
‘I can’t drink water like this.’
My muscles throb just from holding the cup.
It wasn’t just a muscle problem, it was a twisted mana rod, so it would take several hours to solve.
‘Do I have to drink water after that?’
Io stammered for a while before he was making a complaint.
“Can I get you to drink? benefactor?”
“…yes?”
Russell asked back at the unexpected words, and Io, whose face instantly turned red, waved at random.
hastily added.
“Oh no. It’s not like that, if I hold the cup and pour water into it…”
I said something.
‘Did that mean it?’
An offer that Russell had no reason to refuse.
“Please.”
“Then…”
Russell corrected his posture and sat down, and Io took another cup of water and poured it into Russell’s mouth.
If it felt like the cup touching the tip of my lips was trembling for no reason, would it have been an illusion?
After quenching his throat like that, Russell opened his mouth feeling that his thirst had gone.
“By the way, is Io-nim okay?”
“Ah yes. About 10 days had passed and I wasn’t seriously injured in the fight at the time.”
Ten days is not much different from what Russell initially calculated.
“Others are recovering pretty quickly, too. I guess the effect of the potion sent by Endymion was good.”
I bet it is.
It must contain Aidan Owl’s special catalyst.
“Because Vermillion-sama has broken several bones, it will take a little longer to fully attach, but Hubert-sama can be said to be almost completely cured now.”
“I see…”
Russell nodded his head after hearing the news of the brothers’ goodbyes.
If the story of his awakening spreads outside the barracks, the two will also come to see him.
For some time to continue talking about the people around me like that.
“That…”
Io hesitated for a moment before saying, staring into Russell’s eyes.
“There is something I want to say to my benefactor…”
“…?”
“Can you look at this?”
As she spoke, she gently brushed the side of her hair.
It revealed a pair of silver horns that had been hidden beside it.
It’s not strange to say that it’s almost the size of a thumb, which has grown more than twice as long as before.
“ah!.”
Only then did Russell exclaim when he remembered that Io had transformed into a silver dragon during the battle.
“That day, I thought I wanted to save my benefactor, and as a result, I accepted the power of a certain dragon that dwelled within me.”
Io cautiously continued. Briefly explained what had happened.
“And I came to know that my benefactor and I were intertwined by some great fate. Of course, I still don’t know what kind of fate it is, but…”
Maybe it was an illusion.
It felt as if a certain tremor started from Io and flowed into him.
“I don’t know if you feel it, but our two souls are also linked by the same fate.”
He calms down the tremors little by little and continues speaking in a calm voice.
“So, if you know anything, could you explain it to me? What kind of fate did my benefactor and I become intertwined with?”
“…”
A moment of silence.
Russell spoke again after a few minutes.
“I don’t know the details either. Still, I have to explain to Io-nim.”
For some time, Russell, who made the decision, carefully explained the story.
As the story progressed, she, who had eyes astonished like a rabbit, chewed a few words carefully.
“okay. For solvents and the next generation. My benefactor and I became entangled in such a relationship.”
A life that is not an ordinary elf, but an elf and a dragon at the same time.
The words at the time must have meant just that.
The connection of souls, strictly speaking, was not an equal relationship, but one-sidedly subordinate to Russell.
“Are you okay?”
“…?”
“Even if you do this and that, it is not dependent on me. And what effect will the power of a dragon have on Io…”
Before Russell could finish his words, Io covered the back of Russell’s hand with the palm of his hand.
“It is not so.”
He shook his head with peaceful eyes.
“No matter what anyone says, it doesn’t change that I’m Io, and besides, what happened that day was also my choice.”
Accepting the power you could have rejected is your own choice.
Besides, I had my true feelings that I couldn’t tell Russell…
‘Maybe I was hoping for something like this.’
Even though it’s not the look I wanted, it’s a relationship that has been much more sticky than others.
As well as-.
‘No matter what kind of companion you have, I will be the one who will keep your benefactor’s side the longest.’
Considering the dragon’s lifespan of 10,000 years, it must be so.
Io was startled inwardly by the natural flow of thought.
‘oh.’
It was surprising that even though they were not greedy elves, they had this kind of heart.
Perhaps this too was influenced by the dragon.
But it doesn’t feel too bad.
“But now, how should I call a benefactor? A benefactor is still a benefactor, but he has become a dragon.”
Io smiled softly at that feeling.
“But calling him Yongje-nim seems to be too prominent around me…”
he said, revealing his charming dimples.
“…master?”
dragon-swallowed wizard
