Ch.122Chapter 122: Things I Want to Break (2)

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Whoosh-!!

The brief moment of observing the human male trapped in the confidently deployed mind prison with an intrigued gaze came to an end.

When Renium saw the plain gold ring on the man’s right index finger transform into a dragon-like shape in response to the fighting spirit he emitted…

“…Tch!”

He expressed his frustration and bewilderment with a click of his tongue.

Although it was a sound that revealed unusual surprise from a being who, despite being twisted, had some connection to the principles governing the world.

“Why on earth is that ring…?”

The one who clicked his tongue seemed to have no time to worry about dignity or propriety.

“I distinctly remember that ring disappearing along with my body when I lost it fighting Desire, so why is it still here? And in the hands of a human, no less.”

The demon god Renium, who had revealed his bewilderment in a self-mumbled monologue, tried to recall memories related to that ring.

That ring had taken the exact same form as the one worn on the finger of the opponent who had created the most dangerous moment throughout Renium’s entire existence—a being who prided himself on having touched the principles of the world, twisted as they might be.

Though it normally took the form of an utterly plain gold ring…

When it accepted the wearer’s fighting spirit, it transformed into a dragon-engraved shape and simultaneously…

It was an artifact touched by mystery that granted power that even beings who had reached transcendent status like himself couldn’t ignore.

And Renium had experienced countless battles with the being who had worn that ring in the past.

As could be inferred from the phrase “countless battles”…

The opponent was a being that even he, who had obtained transcendent divine status, couldn’t easily dismiss.

Sometimes he would win after fierce battles.

Other times, he would suffer humiliating defeats so terrible that the word “devastating” would be insufficient to describe them.

The identity of this opponent, still vividly etched in Renium’s memory, was a dragon.

Although among mortal beings, it was one of the few with tremendous power…

Despite not being wrapped in divinity like himself…

With a temperament so prideful it bordered on arrogance…

And backing up that irritating temperament…

The overwhelming power that even gods couldn’t disregard—that dragon’s name was…

“Fafnir!”

The same name that came from the human male’s voice as he thrust his right hand forward and shouted vigorously.

Whoosh-!!

As the man called out the name of his archenemy and thrust the ring forward, his body was engulfed in crimson flames.

Normally, seeing someone engulfed in flames would suggest they couldn’t possibly be safe, but…

“Oh no!”

Renium, who let out a voice filled with surprise, unhesitatingly overlapped his right thumb and middle finger, and then…

Snap-!!

He created a clear sound as the two fingers collided.

Whoooosh-!!

Simultaneously, a gust of wind arose around Renium and rushed toward the flames at a ferocious speed.

Though it was a wind completely devoid of moisture, filled only with dryness…

“I can’t let those flames continue!”

It was a gust imbued with just enough divinity to extinguish the flames upon contact, rather than spreading them.

Of course, Renium’s attempt to remove the flames engulfing the man’s body wasn’t for any humanitarian purpose.

“No, no, this won’t do. If I leave that alone, what comes next will destroy the mind prison, and that would be a disgrace to me.”

It was because he was wary of whatever might appear if those flames were left unchecked.

He hurriedly tried to extinguish the flames to prevent its emergence, but…

Whoosh…

Renium’s wind-filled gust dispersed as soon as it approached the mind prison he had set up, failing to fulfill his wish.

“…I’m too late.”

Sensing that the situation had progressed beyond his control, Renium voiced his regret but didn’t give up.

To prevent the mind prison from being destroyed by whatever would appear at the end of this spectacle, he raised his right hand again, overlapping his thumb and middle finger once more.

“Since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to reinforce the mind prison.”

Speaking with a calmness that suppressed a deep sigh as much as possible…

He tried to flick his fingers to strengthen the mind prison containing his observation target, but…

Whoosh-!!

Before he could flick his fingers, the flames that had been enveloping the man expanded throughout the entire mind prison he had deployed.

“…I’m doomed.”

Renium regretted his earlier self who had leisurely tried to observe his opponent after setting up the mind prison.

If he hadn’t been careless and had strengthened the mind prison to its limits, he could have bought considerable time even when facing these flames.

He had tried to be clever by conserving his divine status after manifesting in this land, but ended up wasting both his status and more time to stay in this land.

There couldn’t be a bigger waste than this.

Crack-!!

As Renium watched the mind prison begin to crack with a loud noise, his regret was about to reach its peak when…

Crash-!!

With a loud sound like glass shattering that echoed through this space filled with silence…

The flames that had momentarily dyed his vision red subsided instantly.

And what emerged through those subsiding flames was a nightmarish being that could rival anything Renium had encountered in his long life.

“Sigh… I was hoping against hope, but it really did come out.”

Exhaling a faint sigh, Renium carefully observed the form of what had appeared before him.

What’s done is done.

Rather than wasting time expressing negative emotions…

He began his observation to gather information about his long-time archenemy who had reappeared after a thousand years, preparing for any future encounters.

What filled Renium’s vision was the figure of a man clad in armor.

Red, so intensely red that it was deeper than the flames that had just filled his vision.

Armor made of a strange material that straddled the boundary between metal and biological tissue.

Unlike other fellow demon gods…

Unable to freely manifest his true form in the material world and always having to use an avatar body to appear…

That detestable armor that the dragon, whose mere name made his teeth grind, always wore to protect himself when taking human form—the dragon who would appear wherever he set foot on this land and burn his avatar body.

“Red Dragon Armor…”

As if responding to Renium’s quiet utterance of the armor’s name…

The armor made from the scales of the red dragon, now fully revealed, emitted a subtle red light befitting its name…

Gradually illuminating this space where faint light was beginning to enter.

Step, step

And the man wearing the red dragon armor walked one step at a time toward where Renium was.

“…Oh my.”

Seeing this, Renium let out a brief exclamation before adopting a deeply sunken expression and taking a defensive stance, but…

Boom-!!

In an instant, the man stomped the ground and moved at a speed even Renium’s eyes couldn’t follow, quickly passing by him…

He briefly turned his head to observe Renium…

Then, showing no further interest in him, disappeared through the distorted white portal that qualified as an exit after breaking the mind prison.

“Ha… I was even ignored.”

Renium’s voice revealed cold anger as it grew increasingly frigid.

When the man had passed by him at tremendous speed…

The moment when the bright red light emanating from the helmet part of the armor briefly scanned him…

It was so blatant that he was certain he had been deliberately ignored.

“Fafnir… just you wait. I may not know about that human youngster, but you and I have unresolved grievances from a thousand years that need settling.”

With those final words vowing to settle the score with his archenemy whom he had encountered after a thousand years, though without proper conversation…

“Let’s go back. I just wasted my energy for nothing.”

Renium’s physical form vanished from the mysterious space.

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After wrapping my fighting spirit around the Ring of the Nibelung…

Following Fafnir’s instruction to call his name…

As soon as I called out his name, I could feel crimson flames enveloping my body and…

I could sense a different fighting spirit entering my heart, which was already containing the fighting spirit I had gathered.

An overwhelming force, yet not one that entered ruthlessly without considering the recipient’s circumstances—I accepted it gently without resistance.

[You’re doing well.]

Fafnir’s voice, filled with both satisfaction and fatigue, echoed in my mind.

As time passed, I could feel the crimson flames enveloping my body growing stronger, but…

Despite the intensifying flames touching my body, far from feeling pain…

I was busy harnessing the immense power those flames were transmitting to me.

[Just a little more and you’ll receive the power you need to overcome this situation, albeit temporarily.]

Following Fafnir’s instruction, I raised my right hand high into the air.

[I shall shatter it!]

“I shall shatter it!”

As soon as my vigorous shout, echoing his words, reverberated through the void…

Crash-!!

With a sound like breaking porcelain, the invisible mind prison that had boasted such solidity that no method could even scratch it…

[Hmm. Brief as it was, we’re finally free from the prison that confined us.]

As Fafnir said, the mind prison that had restricted my movements was shattered to pieces.

And at that moment…

I realized that something had been placed on my body.

From face to toe, I was wrapped in something, yet it felt comfortable without any discomfort.

[Young one. How does it feel to wear my armor?]

Thanks to Fafnir’s words, I immediately understood what I was wearing.

The mysterious armor that Fafnir always wore when he appeared in the misty, mysterious space where he summoned me for training…

With red as its base color…

Made from a strange material straddling the boundary between metal and biological tissue…

This armor, which boasted such formidable protection that even when I swung my dragon sword with all my might and fighting spirit, I couldn’t even leave a scratch on it, had been placed on me.

[Red Dragon Armor. A masterpiece among masterpieces, made from the scales of my original physical body.]

And hearing the name of the armor from Fafnir’s mouth for the first time…

I finally understood what the material of this armor was—the material that had evoked a vague sensation in me from the moment I first saw it.

The scales imbued with the power of the mighty dragon once known as the Red Tyrant, who had once dominated the world.

[How is it? Don’t you feel overflowing with power just by wearing the armor?]

He didn’t need to ask—I already knew.

From the moment I put on the armor, I could feel an extraordinarily powerful fighting spirit vigorously circulating through my body…

As if another vessel solely for containing fighting spirit had been created in symmetry with my heart.

The amazing process of receiving and circulating fighting spirit quickly and accurately…

I understood how remarkable this armor was, granting me immense power just by wearing it.

[If we had more time, I’d encourage you to fully savor this power, but…]

‘Right now, the urgent task is to return to the fortress through that white portal ahead.’

[That’s right. We shouldn’t forget what’s important. Let’s go quickly, leaving that dumbfounded fool behind.]

‘Is it alright to leave him?’

[Don’t worry. Though he has some lecherous tendencies, he’s not the type to flip-flop on his words once spoken.]

‘I’ll have to trust that for now.’

[Besides.]

‘…Besides?’

[That guy, as he is now, is no match for you wearing this.]

‘What do you mean?’

[He might look strong to you, but he’s just an avatar body, and an extremely weak one at that.]

‘You can tell just by looking?’

[I’ve burned through more of that bastard’s avatar bodies than I can count on both hands when fighting alongside Lumen a thousand years ago, so of course I can tell by looking.]

‘…I see.’

I knew he was strong, of course.

But I never imagined he was strong enough to take a twisted divine being so lightly.

[Now, let’s head toward the portal back to the fortress.]

‘As you command.’

After processing the information about Fafnir’s strength, I quickly moved my feet according to his request.

I took one light step forward, intending to propel myself forward with the strength in my legs…

Boom-!!

…But merely thinking about it caused my body to move at a speed faster than any movement I’d ever made in my life.

Leaving behind the visibly surprised Renium, I quickly reached the portal, my destination.

Before passing by Renium, I turned my head toward where he was.

Renium seemed unable to properly track my movement, as his gaze was still fixed on the spot where I had been just moments ago.

Hmm, it was as Fafnir had said.

For a divine being wrapped in transcendent status…

Renium, who couldn’t properly perceive my current movement, was indeed in a very weakened state.