I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel – Chapter 170

Chapter 170: Fifth Evolution

…This is truly driving me crazy.

The Red Dragon basically cannot kill me.

Even if it tortures me, it won’t go so far as to endanger my life.

So, if I just endure and wait for it to lose interest, I’ll eventually be set free.

But why did it have to come right now?

I can’t move my body, so I can’t help or stop it.

If we’d been together from the start, I would’ve at least suggested escaping together.

Why did it appear at the worst possible moment?

“Gegegegegek!”

“Let’s keep the baby quiet for a moment, shall we?”

Shaaack!

Chains wrapped around my mouth.

I couldn’t move my body or make a sound.

My body was so battered that I couldn’t move recklessly even if I wanted to.

All I could do was watch.

“Geup! Uuuuup!”

I struggled desperately, shouting at it to run, but it was already too late.

White Wolf turned around and released freezing energy.

Crack-crack-crack!

The chill was so intense it seemed to freeze even the air.

No ordinary spirit beast could ignore the frost exuded by White Wolf in her current state.

But the opponent wasn’t just anyone.

Fwoooosh.

The fiery energy opposite to the chill surged.

Moreover, this volcano was a place saturated with fiery energy, and the Red Dragon was a spirit beast that could be considered fire itself.

The Red Dragon’s fire overwhelmed White Wolf’s frost.

“Hmph. So I finally get to see your face? I was wondering if I should give up since my little one wouldn’t open its mouth, but you came on your own. How grateful I am.”

“…You’re the one who did this to it?”

White Wolf was no match for the Red Dragon.

Though she retained her wolf form, the Red Dragon was still in her human form.

Even though this wasn’t its true form, the difference in power was already vast. If it revealed its true form, the gap would be even greater.

Nevertheless, White Wolf did not back down.

“Did this to it? I even made an effort to hold back, you know?”

The Red Dragon smiled seductively.

“You call this holding back? Its scales have holes in them.”

White Wolf bared her teeth and kept a wary eye on it.

“Well, furred beasts wouldn’t understand.”

“What?”

“This much is just adorable affection.”

“Don’t give me that crap. It’s bleeding out even now, and you call that affection?”

“Hmm?”

The Red Dragon glanced briefly in my direction.

“Oh, you’re right. It’s bleeding more than I thought.”

It tilted its head as if genuinely puzzled.

“That’s strange. I don’t remember doing that.”

This crazy dragon.

How could it act so clueless after what it had done?

“You lunatic!”

Boom!

A massive pack of wolves formed from ice appeared.

“Awoooooo!”

Ilyang and Chilrang.

No, they were masses of frost shaped like them.

“Oh my, I thought they were just ordinary wolves. Turns out they’re more interesting than I expected.”

Swish.

Flaming chains moved again.

This time, they covered my eyes.

“My little one, keep your eyes tightly shut, okay?”

I couldn’t speak or see.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure you stay alive.”

Struggling was pointless.

All I could do was listen to the sounds of battle.

Boom!

“Wow, these ice sculptures are pretty entertaining. Even if I break them, they keep regenerating?”

White Wolf’s frost continued to weaken, while the Red Dragon’s fire grew stronger.

The result was painfully obvious.

The whimpering cries of White Wolf.

And the laughter of the Red Dragon.

“Haha! If this is the gift my little one prepared, I must say, I’m impressed.”

“…Shut that mouth.”

Boom!

I had to move somehow.

If I stayed still, White Wolf would be killed.

But the Red Dragon’s chains bound me so tightly I couldn’t even move a finger.

“And what’s your plan with all this stalling? You must have a trick up your sleeve. Why not show it off?”

The fiery energy flared even more fiercely.

In response, the frost gathered again.

Boom!

Crack-crack-crack-crack!

An overwhelming roar echoed.

I could sense it instinctively.

Just now, this fight had ended.

Judging by the coexistence of fire and ice, it seemed neither had lost their lives.

Step, step.

Someone walked toward me.

“…Hey.”

It was White Wolf.

On the other hand, there was no sound from the Red Dragon.

…Did White Wolf win?

“Can’t you see?”

White Wolf touched my scales.

“What’s so great about sticking close to something that dangerous?”

Clank.

The chains binding my body began to loosen slowly.

“If you caught the Fire Rat, you should’ve come back quickly.”

My eyes were still covered, so I couldn’t grasp the situation, but it seemed White Wolf had defeated the Red Dragon.

How did this happen?

Even though White Wolf’s aura had grown stronger than before, she shouldn’t have been able to beat the Red Dragon.

What does it matter?

The important thing was that White Wolf had won the fight and was now in human form, untying my chains.

“I have a lot I want to say, but there’s not much time.”

Right. She probably hadn’t completely defeated the Red Dragon.

We needed to escape quickly.

White Wolf must have been exhausted, so I’d have to carry her somehow and flee.

“Gek!”

She continued to undo the chains binding my body and, at last, removed the chain covering my eyes.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Golden, cloudy eyes stared back at me.

Her pure white hair was stained with red blood, and her entire body was covered in wounds.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if she collapsed on the spot.

“Really, you’re such an idiot.”

White Wolf let out a faint laugh as if squeezing out the last of her strength.

Sizzle…

Black smoke rose from her hand as it touched the red chains.

I knew better than anyone how these chains were made.

And what would happen if someone touched them bare-handed.

“What’s so great about being covered in scales?”

Thud.

White Wolf collapsed into my arms.

“Why did you do something like this…?”

Crack, crack, crack!

At that moment, the sound of ice breaking echoed.

“I’m a little surprised. Is this the power that Two-Horned Beast granted you? To think it could freeze even me for a moment.”

Only then did I understand.

White Wolf hadn’t defeated the Red Dragon.

She had used all her strength to temporarily trap her in ice.

…If she had such a skill, she could have at least protected herself.

And yet, White Wolf still approached me.

“You didn’t even use all your strength, and you decided to free me?”

If she hadn’t freed me, she might have dealt a fatal blow to the Red Dragon.

If she had focused on escaping from the beginning, she could have gotten away without being hurt.

“Baby, keep your eyes tightly shut, okay?”

White Wolf wagged her tail slowly while lying in my arms.

Even though her body was in shambles.

What could she find so satisfying?

She just smiled.

….

Why do you always throw yourselves for me?

Why do you make me recall old memories?

Why do you make me repeat the same mistakes?

I draped the Fire Rat’s pelt over White Wolf’s body.

“Baby, what are you doing right now?”

“Grrrr…”

I bared my teeth and growled at the Red Dragon.

“You’re protecting that female right now?”

The Red Dragon’s voice sounded a little surprised.

“…And you’re baring your teeth at me?”

Her once fiery voice turned cold.

“Baby, I’m saying this nicely—hand that wolf over.”

“Don’t touch her.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is… Wait, what?”

Did she think I’d hand White Wolf over now?

“Ahaha! Ahahahaha!”

The Red Dragon laughed madly.

“Our little one finally speaks?”

I laid White Wolf down a bit farther away and prepared for a fight.

The Red Dragon, apparently in a good mood, didn’t interfere and waited.

“Fine. This approach isn’t so bad either.”

Creak, creak.

The Red Dragon reverted to her true form.

A size so massive that it couldn’t even be compared to me.

An existence that could be said to stand at the pinnacle of all creatures, the Dragon.

Flames and lava moved at her will.

Fwoooosh.

“Graaaah!”

As she roared, the ground split, and lava surged.

“Wasn’t this a really stupid choice? Did you think that wolf could withstand the heat of the volcano?”

The heat of the volcano intensified.

Just as the Red Dragon had said before, it was as if she was imitating a drought.

Having given the Fire Rat’s pelt to White Wolf, it felt like my body would melt away just by standing still.

Even so, I couldn’t back down.

White Wolf had fought against this kind of heat to save me.

[A mystical energy envelops your body.]

To face her as I was now, I needed to evolve into a Salamander.

But I couldn’t do that.

My evolution would inevitably leave me completely defenseless.

However, not all evolutions were like that.

There was one exception I knew.

A woman who had once protected me, risking herself just like White Wolf had.

Nephila Jurassica.

Her evolution was different from mine.

An evolution that occurred when emotions reached their peak.

Tang So-yeong had called it the true transformation.

Rage welled up, and regret reached its limit.

[Congratulations! 【Komodo-Lania lv30】 has evolved into 【Komodo-Paryong (婆龍) lv1】.]

My dragon scales became harder than before, and my forelimbs thicker and sharper.

“So, my little one was hiding your power all along!”

The Red Dragon spoke as if delighted.

“Looking at you… is that a Paryong?”

But this wasn’t enough to protect White Wolf.

Even if I defeated the Red Dragon, I would lose my life to the heat of the volcano.

“Not bad. Though you’re a lower-class dragon… still….”

I had to eliminate this cursed mountain itself.

[A mystical energy envelops your body.]

True transformation could only be achieved when emotions reached their peak.

Tang So-yeong had said the most significant trigger was the desire to protect something.

Rage and regret had reached their climax, but they weren’t everything.

An emotion I couldn’t clearly define swirled wildly within me.

[A mystical energy transcends your body.]

Komodo is the divine beast of the Gecko.

The Gecko… it was the spirit I had when I fought against the ant army alongside Nephila.

The Gecko… it was the spirit I had when I faced the Caiman for Tus and Pus.

The Gecko… it was the spirit I had when I faced the Dilophosaurus for Tang So-yeong.

For a stranger, I had taken down a Cockatrice. For the small ones, I fought the Megatherium. For the Snake Queen and Shikshik, I stood against Taese.

I didn’t think much about it back then, didn’t show off or feel embarrassed about saying I was protecting someone.

But I had done it as a Gecko lizard, as a Green Basilisk.

As a Crocodile King Lizard, and even as a Komodo.

The Gecko was a spirit that came from the desire to protect someone.

[Congratulations! 【Komodo-Paryong (婆龍) lv1】 has evolved into 【Komodo-Paryong (破龍) lv1】.]

That’s right.

It had to be this much to balance the scales.

[You can temporarily use ?? of ?.]

The heat of the volcano began to fade.

“This is impossible.”

The Red Dragon muttered blankly.

Neither frost, nor fire, nor poison—but something else entirely.

Shwoooosh….

Rain poured fiercely from the sky.

Creak, creak.

Plants began to sprout from the ground.

“…Not a lower-class dragon?”

The heat of the volcano gradually subsided.

The ground split by the Red Dragon’s power was filled, and flowers and trees began to grow.

“Grrrr….”

It wasn’t a clumsy imitation; it was a power that could intervene in the weather itself.

I had stepped onto the path of a true dragon.