Chapter 1171

It was like a jewel.

A jewel of such beauty and mystery that no work of art in the world—not even all of them combined—could compare.

But the thing casting its ominously dark light in every direction was no mere mineral.

Dragon Heart.

Just as its name implied, it was the heart and source of power of the mighty race known as Dragons.

And now, the Dragon Lord who had been wiser and more powerful than any since heaven and earth were divided—and who had fallen deeper into corruption than any other Dragon—knew his long life had come to an end.

He felt it in his body. In his soul.

And heard it in the sound ringing through his ears like thunder.

Crack.

Hairline fractures spread across the smooth surface like a spiderweb.

The Dragon Heart had barely held its shape through its master’s fierce will and the last of his strength. Now nothing could stop the cracks.

There was only a streak of light to hasten the destruction already waiting for it.

Crunch!

It broke. Split apart.

The sunset light flowing along the spearhead, and the Dragon’s heart that had never allowed another’s touch.

Rumble.

Darkness gushed out in place of blood.

The air trembled, as if the world itself knew what was about to happen.

Yet even as his life faded, the Demon Dragon never took his eyes off the Divine Dragon who had driven a spearhead into his heart.

“Fight with all the strength you’ve been given. Keep surpassing yourself. Keep struggling.”

There was no regret, anger, or curse in the words he murmured.

They were encouragement his listener could not understand, and a deep wistfulness at the astonishing amusement he would not live to see.

“…So I can see it from wherever I am.”

At that moment—

Rumble.

Everything in the area stopped moving.

The wind. The air.

Even the Dragon’s enormous body, now that it had breathed its last after a life beyond imagining.

And then—

Whooooom!

The Dragon Heart overflowed, spilling the millennia of time and nearly infinite magical power stored within it in every direction.

Darkness and brilliance were words that should never belong together.

But in that moment, everyone on the battlefield saw and felt them both:

A pillar of dazzling darkness surging skyward, and an enormous power erupting with enough force to shake the world.

And the first to feel it, closer than anyone else, was naturally Jin Taekyung.

Whoosh—

The instant pitch-black darkness swallowed his vision, there was no time to think.

Jin Taekyung moved on instinct alone.

He pulled his spearhead from the Dragon’s heart, tucked the Skeleton King’s head—recovered at last—deep against his chest, and curled up like a fetus.

The next instant, a wave of magical power tore through the brief silence and crashed over him.

Rumble, rumble!

A deafening roar filled his ears, and the world turned upside down.

Sky and earth spun past his eyes again and again. A sensation of weightlessness took hold of his entire body.

Yet Jin Taekyung stayed conscious through the chaos, thanks to his own fierce will—and the clear chime that even the roar could not drown out.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

You have defeated Lv. 195 “Black Dragon Duke” Morgoth!

You have achieved the great feat Dragon Killer!

Achievement Reward has been granted!

You have gained a tremendous amount of EXP!

Your Intimidation has increased significantly!

You have acquired the Title Dragon Slayer!

All abilities are greatly increased when fighting dragonkin. If you ever encounter another Dragon, how it treats you will depend on its disposition.

Level Up!

Level Up!

Level Up!

Level Up!

All injuries and status effects have been healed!

System notifications.

The surest proof that he had survived yet another crisis.

Maybe that was why Jin Taekyung was finally ready to let go of the thread of consciousness he had been clinging to with all his strength.

I want to rest.

That was all he could think about.

He didn’t care what happened next.

His body was still hurtling into the distance like a cannonball, but what did that matter?

Morgoth was dead. His vast monster army had been shattered and reduced to prey.

Even if Jin slammed into something and broke a few bones, he would be fine.

No—he might not even feel pain.

If he closed his eyes now, he would fall straight into a sleep deep enough to ignore any physical pain.

Everything was over. Nothing stood between him and rest.

Right. Nothing.

At least, Jin Taekyung was sure of that until, just before his terribly heavy eyelids fell shut, he heard a voice beside his ear.

“Damn it. This is awful.”

At first, he thought he had imagined it.

Or perhaps the rushing wind had made him hear things.

But neither was true.

He wasn’t asleep yet, and the voice that followed was so clear it proved all of this was real.

“Of all places to wake up, it had to be in the arms of a man reeking of sweat.”

The gruffness of that voice only made it more welcome. Jin Taekyung forced his eyes open with every ounce of strength he had.

He stared blankly at the speaker, who had somehow awakened in his arms. Then he opened his mouth.

“You can’t smell anything. You’re undead.”

“…You bastard.”

A brief silence, then a single curse.

But laughter slipped through the words, and the golden energy tracing the brow of the pure-white skull burned like a torch.

It fed on the Dragon’s magical power overflowing all around them and blazed more fiercely than ever.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the thick darkness spreading on the wind shot toward Jin Taekyung.

No—the being in his arms was drawing it in.

As rain awakens life, the sun lends it strength, and the soil nourishes its growth.

Fwoosh.

The more darkness seeped in, the clearer the golden energy became.

Beyond those two contrasting streams of color, a shadow steadily grew.

No one had ever seen anything like it.

Regeneration. Resurrection.

Perhaps even a new birth.

But the thing that grew by devouring all the darkness around it was no ominous presence.

Even if someone else might point at him and curse him, Jin Taekyung would never see him that way.

He shone as brightly as the radiant golden crown above him.

Rustle.

Jin Taekyung blinked.

His view had stopped spinning. The wind that had whipped past like blades was gone.

Through his dreamlike, hazy consciousness, he could make out only the familiar touch of someone carefully laying him on the ground, and a single line of text hovering above that person’s head.

Lv. 180 “Lord of the Dead” Undead King

The friend he had met again after a brief farewell had changed a little. Jin Taekyung let out a hollow laugh at the sight, remembering the day they had joined forces to defeat the Arch Lich.

“You’ve grown a lot, Bones.”

The Skeleton—or rather, the Undead King—replied as casually as ever to words that still stood clear in his memory.

“Well, I was always a little taller.”

“Bullshit.”

“Now, now. How vulgar.”

Then the two friends burst out laughing as if they had planned it.

Neither knew exactly what the other had been through while they were apart. But they knew one thing for certain.

They had trusted each other and fought to protect what they held dear.

“Human.”

“What?”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Had he finally reached his limit? His friend’s voice sounded as distant as an echo. Jin Taekyung answered faintly.

“…Yeah. You too.”

Rest easy.

Ordinarily, Jin Taekyung would have grumbled, What, is someone dying? But he had nothing left.

Rest easy.

That short, tempting offer was more powerful than Morgoth’s magic, and his exhausted mind was already poised to defy his will.

Thump.

His head drooped, and his eyelids shut tight. The Undead King watched as his friend sank into a deep sleep, as if he’d passed out the instant the words were spoken.

Then he murmured, as if to himself, the words he hadn’t quite been able to add.

“…Though it’ll be far too short a rest to rest easy.”

If Jin Taekyung’s mind had held out just a little longer, he would have understood exactly what those words meant.

No—he surely would have realized it himself, without being told.

The Jin Taekyung he knew had power and instincts every bit as remarkable as his foul temper.

But the massive Grand Mage who had drawn close without anyone noticing was also, without question, one of the most extraordinary people alive.

“Why? Why on earth?”

His voice shook with confusion. So did his eyes.

Magic Johnson dragged his battered body forward, looking around as if entranced.

The joy of reunion and victory had long since left his mind.

He had come to check on Jin Taekyung, but the ominous pulse of power from every direction had made him forget why he was there.

Rumble.

Magic Johnson gritted his teeth.

As a mage who had reached such heights, he could sense it all the more clearly: energy as dark as it was boundless, thick and clinging as a swamp.

Magical power.

So pure and dense that it brought back the decades-old memory of the Great Cataclysm at its height. It was saturating everything around him.

“…Dragon Heart.”

Humanity’s last Grand Mage trembled before he knew it. He understood the cause.

The Undead King had absorbed a vast amount of magical power, yet beside this nearly infinite source, that amount was nothing.

But the thought that had suddenly occurred to Magic Johnson was darker and more ominous than the magical power the Dragon Heart continued to pour out.

“Surely…?”

“Yes.”

The Undead King tried to sound calm, but fear crept into his voice as he watched the darkness swell.

“It’s begun. No—to be precise, it’s complete.”

He was right.

This was the final piece of the enormous puzzle. The key.

The death of the greatest and most powerful Dragon had completed the beginning of another catastrophe.

Beep.

A cold mechanical tone rang out, audible only to the chosen—yet, at this moment, reaching no one.

Rumble, rumble!

With a tremendous roar that shook the world, the pillar of magical power connecting heaven and earth exploded.

Like an active volcano with all its preparations complete.