Ch.192Hero (1)

Viola Ordina cannot kill Radon.

Having fought against Radon for such a long time, in her mind Radon has become an unkillable being, recognized as something so enormous that it covers her entire world.

Normally, while this perception might prevent Viola from killing Radon, it wouldn’t actually make Radon stronger. But this world is made of Viola’s mental imagery. If she perceives it that way, Radon actually becomes such a being.

A dream repeated for a full 560 years.

In Viola’s dream, Radon has continuously grown in size. As a result, Radon has become an enormous entity that cannot be dealt with through normal means.

Simply because “Viola perceives it that way.”

“If one’s perception is reflected in this world.”

Then the solution is also simple.

“I just need to reduce Radon’s significance in her life.”

She needs to focus on something other than fighting Radon. So what should that “other focus” be? There was already a clue for that.

On rainy days, Violet would play the piano in an old pub. It was her small hobby, a tiny sanctuary she created to maintain herself. Najin added his own weight to that place.

It wasn’t difficult or complicated.

Just playing music together, listening to her stories, sharing impressions about the performance. And for Violet, that was enough. Najin’s prediction was correct, and Radon’s size decreased almost daily.

And on the final day, after time had passed.

Najin stood at the end of the sheet music marked with a repeat sign. In his hand was not a violin but a sword.

“I’ve come this far, but it’s still impossible for Viola Ordina to defeat Radon, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. What she wants isn’t overcoming or transcendence, but a peaceful daily life.”

“Indeed. And if a hero who has protected someone else’s daily life for 67 years wishes for her own daily life…”

With a clang, Najin drew his sword.

“Shouldn’t we grant that wish?”

It is a hero’s role to fight against enormous trials and protect the lives of ordinary people. Then who protects the lives of heroes? Najin answered that question by drawing his sword.

Me, no one but myself.

Today, no rain falls on the Kingdom of Cassel. Under the warmly shining sun, Najin raised his sword. Merlin smiled as she brushed back her hair. Her blue hair sparkled in the sunlight.

“Then what remains is simple, right?”

“That’s right.”

With a crash, the sky began to break.

“Kill Radon. So the ‘simplest method’ I mentioned at the beginning becomes the answer?”

“The answer was predetermined. The problem was how to get there.”

The sky shattered and cracks spread.

Glass windows broke into pieces, and Radon revealed itself. Looking at that form, Najin curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Now that I’ve solved it properly…”

Less than a quarter of the size when first seen.

Of course, it was still undeniably enormous.

“I can cut it now.”

It wasn’t too large to cut anymore.

Dong, daeng, dong…

When Radon appeared, bell sounds echoed through the streets. But Viola Ordina did not appear. The bells rang more fiercely and noisily.

DAENG!

No matter how loudly the bells rang, Viola did not show herself. The hero who had protected this country for 67 years did not appear. Around that time, citizens who sensed the crisis began to flee. They moved their feet, screaming, trying to get as far away from Radon as possible.

And Najin.

Tak.

He took a step in the exact opposite direction. When everyone was trying to distance themselves from Radon, Najin stepped toward it. Because a hero is one who doesn’t flee when everyone else does.

Najin stood straight in front of the walls surrounding the kingdom.

He glared at Radon from the very front.

Najin had promised Violet. That just for today, he would be the hero in her place.

Najin was a knight. And knights must always keep their promises. How could one be called a knight if they broke their promises? So what needed to be done was clear.

“Merlin.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

Morning Star.

The star that announces the end of night shone brightly.

2.

Though its size had decreased, Radon was still a powerful dragon. As evident from the fact that it had held onto a transcendent’s life for 67 years, Radon was a being comparable to transcendents.

Moreover, dragons are fundamentally immortal beings.

They cannot be killed by normal means and resurrect time and again. Even if an overwhelming power were to slash them to pieces, no matter how finely they are cut, dragons will inevitably revive as time passes.

So dragons cannot be killed.

That was the truth and rule of the world.

‘Truth, rules, providence.’

Chewing on those words, Najin gripped his sword.

Though it was something the world had deemed impossible, Najin possessed the power to ignore those rules. Looking up at the sky, the stars Najin possessed were shining there.

Challenge, Dragonslayer, Penetration, Unyielding.

Among them, one star shone particularly bright. The star of Dragonslayer, which Najin had obtained by achieving the contradiction of killing an undying dragon. Once, pointing at that star, Merlin had said:

Its use may be limited, but when that limited situation comes, that star will shine more brilliantly than anything else.

Merlin was right. Najin felt the starlight enveloping his body. Though there was an enormous gap between Radon and himself, the light was shining to allow him to cross that gap. What was needed at this moment wasn’t cold judgment.

Just having conviction.

Believing in oneself.

Noticing that Viola wasn’t appearing, Radon began to move. As it flapped its massive wings, a storm raged. Market stalls in the streets were smashed and blown away, and trees uprooted flew high into the sky.

In front of the raging typhoon, Najin stomped his foot down hard. With a boom, he planted his foot into the ground and took a deep breath.

His gaze fixed on Radon.

The dragon’s mouth opened wide, and flames condensed within. Dragon’s breath, the simplest yet most powerful weapon a dragon possesses. The flames gathering in Radon’s maw reminded one of a blazing sun.

If he were to take that flame head-on, he would melt away without leaving a trace. If Najin had been alone here, he might have tried to break through that breath in a more complicated way, but…

“Merlin.”

Now there was no need for that.

Because Merlin was by Najin’s side. The magic she had been preparing even before her name was called, Merlin completed the moment her name was spoken.

7th Circle Magic.

Though she was currently a 6th Circle magician, she manifested 7th Circle magic with remarkable ease. This time, she did so without borrowing Najin’s stars. Merlin knew how to use higher-tier magic with insufficient circles, and had been doing similar things even before becoming a transcendent.

She made six circles interlock to create one large circle. That substituted for the seventh circle.

Najin didn’t know what magic was created. Even if a great magician had been present, even if Safria Gachefsga, the Master of Platinum Tower who had studied all magic in history, had been there, they couldn’t have identified Merlin’s magic.

Because what Merlin handled was unique magic that only she could use, modified by her for herself alone.

Flash.

The moment the magic was completed, a bluish wave rippled around Najin’s body. Though Najin didn’t know the effect of this magic, he wasn’t particularly curious.

What he had asked Merlin for was a means to block the breath.

If Merlin had cast her magic without saying anything, he just needed to trust her magic.

Grip.

Trusting Merlin, Najin took his stance.

And Radon breathed fire.

Dyeing the sky red, flames fell. A wave of fire that would incinerate everything it touched rushed toward Najin. The moment those flames reached Najin, steam rose with a hissing sound.

Steam created when water meets fire.

The magic Merlin had created protected Najin’s body. Even in the face of the dragon’s breath, Najin’s body did not melt. Far from melting, Najin couldn’t even feel the heat. Thanks to that, Najin could perfectly execute his technique.

Just as the castle walls were about to melt from Radon’s flames.

Najin extended his spear toward the sky.

Chungkak.

The steam was pierced. The flames were pierced. Najin’s vision, which had been obscured by fire and steam, cleared in an instant. As a huge hole opened in the wave of fire, a storm raged.

Ka, gagagagagagagak!

Chungkak, launched toward the sky while his feet remained planted on the ground. A beam of light that pierced through everything between, shot up into the sky and struck Radon’s chin.

With a crack, Radon’s maw was forcefully tilted upward. In the process, its mouth was forcibly closed, stopping the breath as a bonus.

A single blow was exchanged. That was enough for them to recognize each other. Lowering its head that had been tilted back, Radon glared at Najin. Its yellow, slit-pupiled beast eyes stared at Najin.

Najin flicked the tip of his spear toward Radon.

“Come down.”

No matter how many times you breathe fire from up there, it won’t reach me. Come down. Try to slash me with those hard claws, or tail, or bite me with that maw.

If not, I’ll drag you down by force.

3.

What makes dragons troublesome is not just their hard scales and immortality, but most fundamentally, the fact that dragons fly in the sky.

Radon, floating hundreds of meters in the air.

No matter how well Najin could execute Chungkak or other techniques, he couldn’t fully transmit that impact to an enemy hundreds of meters away. It might be possible for Krinbel or Alderan, but Najin hadn’t become as strong as them yet.

So to inflict meaningful damage on Radon, he first needed to close the distance. Following orthodox methods, he would have launched a hot air balloon or an artifact-made flying vehicle to use as a foothold.

“Huh? Why do you need that?”

Once, when Najin was looking into such methods while preparing to subjugate Radon, Merlin had said that.

“Why do I need it? Well, first I need to close the distance. I can jump several dozen meters, but even so, hundreds of meters is a bit…”

“No, I mean, why do you need such things?”

Tilting her head, she pointed at herself.

“Have you forgotten who’s by your side? I told you. In this dream, you can rely on me.”

Merlin had shrugged and said.

“What’s a foothold?”

“I can even make a path for you.”

Proving those weren’t empty words, at this moment, Merlin raised her hand toward Radon.

“A mere speck looking down on me.”

Merlin frowned.

She flicked her outstretched hand toward Radon with a snap. At that moment, the vast sky behind Radon rippled like a lake.

For the past month, Merlin had consistently made it rain in the Kingdom of Cassel. That wasn’t simply an act of “making it rain,” but also a process of dyeing the sky with her own mana.

The sky rippling like a blue lake.

Merlin wrung out all of her mana that had seeped into the sky. A magician prioritizes efficiency and should not waste even a grain of mana. Merlin recycled the mana that had been “wasted” over the past month.

Eight rings overlapping in the sky emitted a flash of light.

8th Circle Magic, Submersion.

The sky fell. That’s how it appeared to Najin. As if a part of the blue sky had broken off, it fell toward Radon. Only when it engulfed Radon did Najin realize what had fallen wasn’t the sky.

It was water. A massive amount of water.

A column of water pouring like a waterfall swallowed Radon. Unable to fully withstand that mass, sounds of bones breaking and muscles tearing came from Radon’s wings.

Crack, crackcrackcrack!

Dragon scales have high resistance to magic, but what was breaking those bones and tearing those muscles now was pure physical force. The mass and weight created by the water pouring like a waterfall pressed down on Radon.

Then, tap.

Merlin lightly touched the ground with her boot. With just that, six circles were drawn on the ground. The moment a single drop from the falling water stream bounced on that circle.

6th Circle Magic, Brinicle.

The water froze. Starting from a single water droplet, the ice began to spread to the surroundings through the moisture in the air.

Crack.

The waterfall that had swallowed Radon began to freeze. It took only a few seconds for it all to freeze completely.

A massive ice formation reaching from the ground to the sky.

Radon, trapped inside, was struggling to break the ice, but the progress was slow. Too slow. With frost forming between the gaps in its scales, its movements were excessively sluggish.

Pointing at that ice, Merlin smiled proudly.

“Who am I?”

“The great archmage, possessor of 11 stars…”

“Not that.”

Merlin pushed Najin’s back.

“Right now, I’m your guide. And a guide’s role is to make paths. Right?”

“That’s right.”

“What are you doing? Not running?”

Merlin smiled.

“I can’t stand that arrogant beast looking down on me, so hurry up and bring it down.”

A path completed in a somewhat physical sense.

Najin began to run along the path made of ice, reaching all the way up to Radon in the sky.