episode_0098

One life, five chances.

It’s a limitation on me. You can think of it as a kind of contract. The power of predation is also subject to this limitation. Joker cards too.

Because – it’s a collapse of balance. If I use the power of devouring just two or three times, I can rise to the rank of the strongest in this worldview. Just like I did in my past life.

The Joker card is the power to defy heaven. Could it be called a reverse heaven, or a regression as we go back to the distant past? Anyone who doesn’t know my long past can say that I’m just entering a ‘transformation’ state.

Just like the Power of Predation, I can only use the Joker card five times. Five times in one lifetime. In other words, I have five more ‘spare lives’.

In my past life, I played the Joker card only twice. When fighting the Dragon Lord, and when fighting the Demon Lord. Honestly, I never imagined I would use it twice.

Even if I just feasted on the Dragon Lord’s soul, the continent would be beneath my feet. I was everything, and there was only one person in the world who could threaten me.

I really never imagined that that ‘one’ would hit me in the head. I even didn’t expect that even if I used the Joker card, it would turn out so miserably.

I raised my head. The sky is turning dark. The demonic energy gushing out of me spreads furiously in all directions.

My whole body is full of strength. So much so that if I had to pick Taesan, I could easily pick it.

A sinister smile appeared on his lips. Originally, I didn’t plan on using the Joker card against the Dragon King, but since I already had to use it, I decided to use it to my advantage.

Ugh-.

The demonic energy was poured into the ground. To find the hero party and Nioh. Several creatures touched the strands of the Magi’s tentacles that were slowly moving forward.

Except for Nioh, the hero party was all killed by the Dragon King’s meteor magic. It wasn’t what I had planned, but I think it worked out well in the end. I toasted in my heart.

The pitch-black dragon looks down at me with its golden eyes shining. I confidently raised my head and met his gaze.

This is because they are overflowing with confidence in victory. Once I enter this ‘state’, I can never lose unless my opponent is a demon lord or a god. If someone who surpasses me now appears, that doesn’t mean I’m weak. There’s something wrong with that guy.

“Ja, Dragon King.”

He spread his arms wide towards the black dragon. With your palms straight.

“Let’s play.”

*****

Endros, the Dragon King, the origin of dragons derived from the primordial chaos.

When he first got into a fight with uninvited guests, he was calm.

Masurim is a world of the fittest of the jungle. The weak become prey and the strong become predators. It is a natural providence.

Endros is a monster who holds the title of king in the demon forest. Until now, many powerful people had challenged him. And Endros was never defeated.

This time too, it was assumed to be part of such a challenge. When he first noticed that there was an intruder in his bedroom, he sent a welcome and confirmed the intruder’s goal, making the accusation a fait accompli.

Of course, even if it became a fait accompli, there was no great inspiration or change of heart. Fighting with challengers and trampling on them was part of his ‘daily life’ that he had to endure countless times.

The uninvited guests were strong. A sword that scarred Endros himself, a large human who knocked Endros down with incredible strength, and a wizard who knew how to use the 7th circle magic called ‘Meteor’. Endros was not one to let down one’s guard.

But that’s just it. Weak humans couldn’t handle Endros, who decided to use magic and hand-to-hand combat and even triple casted. In the end, when the ‘Meteor’ prepared by Endros fell, the humans were unable to respond and were wiped out.

‘The rare has collapsed. It would be enough to just rebuild it.’

A plain that has become a mess due to the impact of a meteorite. Endros inspected each buried uninvited guest with ‘dragon’s eyes’ in preparation for any possible counterattack. Fortunately, all of the uninvited guests were dead or unconscious.

‘… ‘What is this guy doing?’

Except for one demon, who just stood by and watched throughout the battle.

‘Just the fact that he didn’t die is something to be proud of, and he’s even holding on to his spirit. Did you survive with the barrier?’

It was a demon wearing a pure white suit, a snow-white mask, and a magician’s hat. The demon was protecting a human wizard who was much smaller than himself with his own body.

‘Thanks to that, the wizard lived. Are you waiting until you can be alone with me? ‘Is that why you didn’t come to the forefront?’

Endros slowly came down to the ground and stood in front of the demon lying on the half-ruined ground. The gap in eye level was very large.

“Young demon, you are the only one who can hold on to your spirit.”

“Of course, Endros. My whole body aches because of your meteor magic.”

“This old man clearly warned me. If you want to suit me, you have to risk your life.”

Suddenly, Endros felt curious about the demon. Where did they come from, why did they attack you, and why did you suffer disaster for not participating in the war?

There were many things I wanted to ask. This was especially true since the fight did not start with hostility from the beginning.

Sreuk-.

The demon’s hand rummaged inside his chest and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a card-shaped piece of paper the size of the palm of one’s hand.

The demon threw it into the sky. A piece of paper with a strange clown drawn on it fluttered and fell. The card disintegrated in the air and covered the demon’s entire body.

Truly.

Receiving the energy from the card, the demon stood up.

‘Hmm? Are you planning to fight me alone? That’s cool, the fighting spirit of young people is something to emulate… .’

Kwaaa-.

‘… What is it? The air current has changed. ‘It’s not just a passenger plane.’

The demon’s body shape changes from moment to moment. The suit tightens, and the white mask seeps into the skin. Although it was a very heterogeneous scene, the masks naturally fused together as if they were originally a piece of skin.

The skinny body is filled with colorful muscles. Rapid bulking. But I didn’t feel any sense of disconnect. It was truly a strange phenomenon.

The demon’s nose grows bigger and its eyes turn white. At first glance, the face shape could be mistaken for something between a goblin and a human. The corners of his mouth were torn so that they reached his ears.

Black magical energy rose from the demon’s transformed body. The amount is enough to embarrass even the Dragon King, who possesses endless magical power. The ominous demonic spirit dyed the sky of the Demon Forest dark.

Feeling something familiar yet nostalgic, Endros raised his claws. On top of the demon’s head, a piece of red cloth grew like a horn.

‘Did they use a move to amplify their power? No, something is different. ‘Something fundamentally different.’

Meanwhile, the demon had suddenly taken the same form as the pattern drawn on the card.

“Ja, Dragon King.”

Oscar spread his arms wide and approached the Dragon King. Even though I saw the power of Endros, who had just destroyed the warrior party, there was not even an inch of hesitation in his movements.

“Let’s play.”

“Did you hide your power?”

“No, my power is the same as before. What it looks like now… It would be correct to say that it is the power drawn.”

“The amount of magic energy is the same as that of the Great Sea. It’s an amount that can never be grasped with just a few thousand years of training.”

“How many thousands of years? You went too far. I’m only 409 years old.”

“… Do you want to at least play with this old man?”

Oscar maintained a fairly relaxed attitude. You might take that as a sign of pride, but Endros didn’t do that.

‘Maybe this will be my last place. ‘Where did such a monster appear?’

“It’s not polite to make an older person wait. Shall I go in first?”

Shhh-.

“… !?”

In a split second, just a split second, Oscar’s new model disappeared. Endros missed his movement and quickly raised his mana.

bang-!

[Oops!]

In the blink of an eye, Oscar punched Endros in the face. A tingling shock spread throughout Endros’ whole body. The dragon’s neck and waist were bent, and Endros did a somersault in the air.

“Ahahaha! You’re so ugly!”

Kwaang-!

[Wow!]

Oscar climbed onto Endros’ waist, as if using teleportation, and stamped his feet excitedly. Endros’ spine folded in half.

“Sanguis dēfénsĭo!”

Perhaps because he didn’t want to suffer, Endros worked hard to generate mana and create a protective shield even though his whole body felt like it was being crushed. However, when Oscar swung his fist and the resulting wind pressure hit the barrier, the barrier was torn apart like a piece of paper.

[Krrr!!]

‘What is this…? ! I can’t follow the movement with my eyes! A movement that deceives even the dragon’s eyes… ! ‘Never would have thought such a thing existed!’

Oscar riding on Endros’ tail. Endros tried to pull Oscar away by swinging his tail like a whip, but Oscar didn’t even nod. A sense of fear crept into Endros’ heart.

“I have one question. Is it true that the flame at the end of the Dragon King’s tail will never go out?”

“You… It wasn’t a kid. It was a monster.”

“Just answer any questions you ask. Has it really never turned off until now?”

“Ha, ha… I don’t know what you’re asking, but you’re stating the obvious. This fire started with firewood from the world tree Yggdrasil. How could it go out… !”

“Really? I tried setting fire to all the World Trees, but in the end, the fire went out after all the World Trees were burned. Hmm, I’m suddenly curious? Will this fire go out once the Dragon King’s tail burns up and turns to ashes?”

“What do you say… Eup!!”

Suddenly!

[Kaaa!!]

As Oscar shaped the blade with his hand, the magic energy that filled the sky gathered around his hand. Oscar lowered his magic sword without any hesitation.

When the warrior party cut down, Endros’ skin, which had only suffered a few scratches, was cut off entirely. The tail, which was made up of muscles, mana blood, and a lump of flesh, was cut off.

“But since the Dragon King is a lizard, his tail will grow quickly, right?”

A fireball spouted out from Oscar’s hand as he held Endros’ tail, which was dripping with blood, and enveloped the tail. The blue glow of the hottest fire engulfed the tail in an instant.

[Crrr… !]

Huh!

Endros’ front paw flew forward nimbly. Because the Stronger spell was applied, it was a lightning strike. However, Oscar remains silent, wondering what he was thinking.

Grumble-.

“… !”

Contrary to Endros’ vision, which predicted that he would shatter Oscar’s torso, his front paws only ended up digging into Oscar’s body. And then, I couldn’t get out.

It was like a bog or mud. The flesh was clearly cut, but it didn’t feel like it was being cut. It was around that time that Endros realized something was wrong.

Grumble-.

“Ahaha, it tickles. Do you want to remove it? But what should I do? I have no intention of letting your feet rest in peace?”

“What… ! Is that a spirit… ?”

“I know a lot about spirits. Because they imitated me. But.”

Boom!

Oscar’s body hardened in an instant. Thanks to this, Endros, who was struggling in the thick liquid, was cut off. Endros’ pupils shook as if there had been an earthquake.

[Kaaa!!]

“Spirits can’t do this. Because they are imperfect.”

“Me, Meteor Storm… !!!”

With his tail and legs cut off and bleeding profusely, Endros worked hard to raise his magic power. The magic power moved from the dragon’s upward thrusting fingers, and meteorites began to rain down through the black sky.

Kugugugugu-!

The stone that destroyed the warrior party multiplied dozens of times and fell. As the description suggests, it was a meteorite storm, an unrealistic sight that would make anyone watching immediately give up their desire for life.

However, Oscar chuckled and took out a stick from his pocket. It was a stick three handspans long, also called the ‘magic wand’.

“Change!”

pop-!

When Oscar shouted loudly while pointing at the meteorite with his magic stick, the meteorite immediately turned into a flower. Flowers rained from the sky.

For the Dragon King Endros, for whom this was his last resort and his last struggle, it was a sight that shattered his courage.

Patter-patter-.

‘What, what! Did you really change it!? It’s not an illusion, it’s really like turning a meteorite into a flower!?’

As he felt the rain of flowers falling with his whole body, Endros realized that the place he was in was real. An unbelievable reality, an incomprehensible existence, a phenomenon that does not make sense. There was nothing strange about it.

“You, who are you… ?”

Changing one substance into another substance. it could be. The world calls it alchemy. Turning stones into gold and gems into piles of dirt. These are all examples where the same pension conversion was applied.

But a meteorite cannot turn into a flower. Because the two have completely different composition and ingredients. However, this demon transformed the meteor storm into a baptism of flowers, as if mocking that obvious law.

It meant that the demon in front of him had gone against providence.

“Demon King… Is it? Are you the Demon King Kanos who was newly born 400 years ago? ?”

Endros asked a question in a turbulent tone.

“No!”

Demon, Oscar cut him off and answered firmly.

“Now I am Chaos!”