The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 185



Only Krnovel

Episode 185. The Last Dragon (4)

The dragon’s story started from a very unexpected point.

– Do you know what a ‘mountain range’ is, mortals?

There was no way I didn’t know. There are many mountains of various kinds on this continent, but there is only one terrain called a ‘mountain range’. It is a huge mountain range that runs straight across the center of the continent and the western part of the continent.

Only by going beyond that can one reach the ‘wilderness’ and the ‘demon landscape.’

By definition, the barbarian, who came from the wilderness beyond the mountain range and had even crossed the mountain range himself, readily nodded. I have no idea why you asked that question.

– If so, do you know how those ‘mountains’ were created?

Realistically speaking, it could be due to the collision of continental plates or something. However, Kadim’s intuition told him that it couldn’t possibly be something so ordinary.

Sure enough, something unexpected came out.

– The ‘mountain range’ is created by the piled up corpses of my people.

“… … .”

– Bones and flesh of up to a thousand dragons. The tombs formed by piled piles of them, piled up, piled up, decayed and weathered debris, and covered with the sand of merciless years, are the true identity of the ‘mountains’ that cross the continent… … .

Dragons are the most powerful creatures on earth. One dragon can destroy a city, ten dragons can destroy a country, and a hundred dragons can destroy a continent.

However, the incomprehensible providence of the world sometimes causes catastrophes that cannot be fathomed by the intellect of creatures.

One day, an incident occurs in which a thousand dragons are helplessly exterminated in just one night.

‘Night of Heaven’.

It was a major event that brought down the curtain on the ‘age of myth’ where humans, elves, and dwarves fought for supremacy over the continent, gods directly intervened in the order of the earth, and dragons looked down on the heavenly stronghold. After this event, all other races except the humans who followed Elgar disappeared to the outskirts, and the dragons who reigned as living, breathing destruction disappeared forever into the back alleys of history.

Currently, there are no official records remaining regarding ‘Night of Heavenly Punishment’. The only story that was passed down by word of mouth was that the dragons, drunk with arrogance, challenged the position of gods and were exterminated by the wrathful god.

However, according to the dragon’s own experience, the truth was this.

– One day, the dragons realized that Elgar’s ‘sacredness’ had changed.

“… … !”

– The divine and physical… … The shell that formed the basis of absolute power was still there, but the ‘divinity of light and order’ within it had disappeared without a trace. Instead, an indescribably ominous ‘divinity’ of something took over the form and was acting like an absolute god.

The ‘Fake Elgar’ who suddenly took the throne of heaven was different from the fair and merciful real Elgar. He bestowed excessively powerful blessings on his followers, used the sun as his eyes to watch over all things, and killed those who saw through or denied his true identity, disrupting the order of the continent.

The dragons did not sit idly by and watch this violence. As the most powerful beings in creation, they took responsibility and all the dragons gathered at the same time and day to launch an all-out attack on Elgar’s eye, the ‘sun’.

And the results were even more devastating.

– That night, the sun did not set even as night fell… … . Punishment, punishment, punishment… … . The sun, going against the natural order, poured down a baptism of ‘punishment’ like a downpour that would destroy the world… … . The false god’s lightning bolts pierced the carapace and wings of the stalwart dragons like blank sheets of paper… … . Even so, all the dragons did not give up and fought until the very end… … but in the end, they were all annihilated without a single scratch on those hateful eyes… … .

Dragons are the most powerful creatures on earth that no one can rival except God. However, before the wrath of God, dragons were mere creatures.

All dragons were annihilated. Without any literary rhetoric, corpses formed mountains. Only one, Lafustra, miraculously survived after being buried in a pile of corpses and resurrected.

Even if he lived, the last dragon could no longer enjoy the same power as in the past. Outside of Elgar’s eyes, if you exercise your power in the sun like the followers of the forgotten god, you will be punished by heaven.

Lafustra inevitably secluded himself in his lair. He was oblivious to all worldly affairs, burning intruders and living a life of collecting treasures. He did not care whether the Great Demon appeared, whether the Cracks appeared, or whether demons ran rampant… … .

The only exception in thousands of years of seclusion was the fight against ‘the evil that is destroying the world.’

In fact, it was for reasons other than to prevent destruction. And maybe… … As so many years have passed, there was hope that I would be able to withstand the ‘celestial punishment’.

However, the results were invariably disastrous.

– The magician’s flames were threatening, but I could somehow endure them. But that damned Elgar’s ‘divine punishment’ was still unbearable even after so much time had passed… … . Before I could properly exert my power… … I was hit by concentrated fire as soon as I reached the World Tree and had no choice but to retreat.

There was a feeling of overwhelming fear in my split pupils. His crouching posture became loose, and the scars of the heavenly punishment still remaining on his torso were clearly visible.

I finally found out. Why was the Supreme Being trembled with fear, why did it not interfere in the affairs of the world, why was it unable to fight properly against the Great Wizard and was defeated… … .

Kadim furrowed his brow. The power of ‘Heavenly Punishment’ was much stronger than he had thought, since it had annihilated a thousand dragons. If that were true, it wouldn’t be easy to get the dragons to cooperate with him again to face Melissa.

however.

“Great Supreme Being, Rahph-shtran. Please look at this for a moment.”

This time there was a solution.

Ilenia took out a large blackout curtain and unfolded it. A holy relic given by the church, ‘Night Shadow Blackout’. It was possible to temporarily avoid heavenly punishment by blocking the sun with this blackout curtain imbued with the Great Holy Law of Darkness.

Lapustra’s pupils dilated greatly. When he heard the testimony that he had used the Dark Magic in broad daylight and was safe, his dilation reached its peak and he was filled with excitement.

But the excitement quickly died down.

After much agony, the dragon refused the request. Even so many dragons suffered helpless punishment from heaven, which is why it is difficult for him to believe in the relics of a god who has lost his name. Even though Ilenia tried to convince him that it had already proven to be effective, that this was not to prevent the Divine Punishment, but to deceive the eyes, and that it would be okay since he was not facing the sun head-on this time, he remained firm.

– … … But the main dragon cannot help you. You either kill that magician or boil him. Now it’s up to you to figure it out among yourselves.

At this point, Kadim couldn’t hold back and started provoking him in a straightforward manner.

“You’re still the same cowardly bastard, past and present. It’s a shame to be called a dragon. Why don’t you change your name to something like a golden gecko instead?”

““… … .””

– … … .

Everyone is in shock.

The dragon’s pupils were as small as a thousand dollars.

That flame must have been created by absorbing warmth from all directions. Otherwise, there was no way the air would suddenly feel this cold.

– … … What did you just say?

“I called you a coward. And I suggested we change your name to Golden Gecko.”

– [Say – once – say – look – la – !!!!]

―――――― Kwagwagwagwagwa – !!!

The roar of the dragon, the fierce dragon, resounded. The shockwave tore apart the treasure pile, collapsed a corner of the ceiling, and completely drained the life from the bodies of all living things.

Kadimman didn’t show any sign of agitation. He had already expected this to happen. He glared at the dragon fiercely, overcoming the pressure that made each and every cell shrink.

“If there is no countermeasure against ‘divine punishment’, then that may be the case. However, if you are going to throw it away even though there is a proven countermeasure, then that only means that you are a big coward. If you are going to live this way, why don’t you just die with your own kind and add a ridge to the mountain range?”

– [Shut up – Shut up!!!] You idiot, what do you know that you can’t even just throw away… … !

“That worm, who is not even as good as that, has already saved the world once. While you were rotting away in this comfortable nest, I endured all sorts of filthy and ugly adversities and cut off the Great Demon’s neck.”

– … … .

The giant dragon’s explosive rage stopped for an instant. Kadim glanced at the companions standing behind him with solemn eyes.

“No, it’s not just me.”

– … … .

“That woman, despite being ‘punished by heaven’ like you, still fears not the sun and helps me. That man, without any help from any god, has created a power that can rival the empire of the Elgaz. Even the peddler who is lying on the ground, even his own family, has proven his worth time and time again by chasing me with the determination to turn their backs on me.”

The mouth that was spitting out its wrath was closed tightly and would not open. The spark that had been in the dragon’s eyes had suddenly moved to the barbarian’s eyes. Kadim took a step forward.

“While these short-lived, weaklings were struggling so desperately, what on earth were you, the ‘Supreme Being’, doing? Collecting treasures? Turning a human into a dragon to kill time? Going out for a bit and then coming back as if burned, and then crashing back into your nest?”

– … … .

“Since when have dragons become the things that shut themselves in their rooms, whine and collect antiques? How long will they tremble in fear, avoiding the eyes of that damned fake Elgar? Aren’t they ashamed to face their own kind who died heroically and formed a mountain range? Where have the dragons gone, the ones who reigned as living, breathing destruction, and dared to defy the gods of the heavens, and have only reptiles covered in bloated shells remained?”

– … … .

“A bird that doesn’t flap its wings falls to the ground. A fish that doesn’t swim is carried away by the current. A dragon that doesn’t leave its nest is buried forever in the sands of time and forgotten. That’s what I mean.”

– … … .

“… … “He who does not struggle achieves nothing, dragon.”

A declaration from the great warrior who acts on behalf of the enemy, resonating clearly.

The echoes die down and silence falls.

Confusion appeared on the dragon’s face.

It was a chaos that could not be described in a single word. Anger, passion, defeat, humiliation, shame, repentance, regret, relief, courage… … All kinds of emotions were mixed together and abstracted on the scaly face as a canvas. Because the scale was so large, it seemed more like a change in mood than a change in expression.

The storm of emotions was finally converging into ‘acceptance’. However, an unbroken ray of fear blocked the last step.

Kadim had no choice but to push the dragon’s back.

“Wouldn’t you like to bring back old memories, Dragon?”

– … … What kind of bet are you talking about?

“For ten seconds, breathe on me with all your might. If I’m still alive after ten seconds, you can help me subdue Melissa as I asked. Of course, if I don’t and I die… … then you figure out what happens next.”

The re-enactment of the legend that turned a young master who almost died in vain into a hero who defeated a dragon.

For a moment, Remillion returned to the feeling of a young master looking up at the barbarian who appeared like a savior and opened his mouth wide. At first glance, the dragon’s expression showed a remnant of those days when it was hungry for entertainment.

– The condition for choosing one treasure… is it the same as before?

“Yes. But, there’s no need to choose something new.”

Kadim pointed at the familiar black metal piece at the top of the treasure pile.

“That shield, I will choose the treasure the same way as before.”

– … … !

““… … !!””

Everyone except the savages was astonished.

The name of the treasure chosen by Kadim is ‘The Frost Mother’s Embrace’. It was an epic grade shield with the strange effect of granting stronger heat resistance the lower the level of the equipped character.

Although it is a piece of equipment that is treated as a trap item in the game, it showed superb performance in just one place: a quest to bet with a dragon. This is because the Dragon’s Breath, which boasts devastating firepower, was almost completely blocked even in the very beginning. Its effectiveness was proven in real life when Khadim, who was a novice at the beginning of the first episode, withstood the dragon’s breath and survived.

But even now, it seems difficult to expect the same performance as then.

It wasn’t just that Kadim had become much stronger than before. After blocking the dragon’s breath twice, the shield was completely destroyed. It was absolutely impossible to block the dragon’s breath again with this monstrosity that was more like scrap metal than a shield, melted and twisted black.

“Ka, Kadim… … ? If you’re really going to make that bet… … wouldn’t it be better to choose a different treasure instead of that one?”

“Huh… … That would be better. Back then, that shield certainly showed impressive performance… … Now that doesn’t seem like a good choice at all… … .”

– … … A bet only works when there is a chance that both sides will win. Choose another treasure, mortal.

Even though his party was shocked and tried to dissuade him, and even the dragon advised him to reconsider, Khadim did not change his mind.

He shouldered the pitch-black axe and stood firm on the pile of treasures. Without a moment’s hesitation, he lifted the melted shield. His ghostly eyes sparkled and he boldly recited:

“Breathe, dragon. As hot as the pent-up resentment in your soul.”

– … … .

Just like 300 years ago, let’s take a moment to look into those eyes that are staring at us with firmness.

The dragon made a decision and took a deep breath.

The cool air, the expanding chest, the deadly inflammable substance rising from the danjeon, the acrid gas formed by its evaporation, the exhalation mixing with the gas and flowing down the windpipe, the power that ignites the exhalation and intensifies the fire, the brilliant golden orb that swells, swells, swells, swells within the teeth.

Finally, the moment when the mouth gapes open wide, gathering all the firepower.

―――――――― Kwagwagwagwagwagwagwagwa – !!!

The breath that burned even the oceans rushed toward Khadim in a dazzling explosion.