Chapter 22 Dragon Maken (1).

Episode 22 - Dragon Maken (1)

At that moment, every existence in the continent with the presence of dragon blood shuddered.

“A new Dragon Demon Qi is born…..?”

This was mumbled by a woman lost in mediation inside the darkness. She had strong magical energy wrapped around her body, and she could dimly sense the event happening in a far away place.

Dragon Demon Qi.

It was a refined form of a dragon’s power, and it was created using a soul as an ingredient. It was the very definition of a true magical weapon.

Another voice was heard from the darkness.

“Did you say Dragon Demon Qi?”

“How can that be?”

“There is no way the Dragon Demon Qi was born in this era.”

“This era has even forgotten about the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.”

With that as a start, many voices started flying around.

The woman spoke.

“This sensation…. I’m sure of it. A new Dragon Demon Qi was born outside of our territory.”

“I’ll agree it feels the same. This sensation… I could never forget it.”

“However, there is no way a new Dragon Demon Qi would be born.”

“There is no coincidence in the birth of the Dragon Demon Qi.”

“Everyone should end the transmission, and let us aid in damaging the Spirit Order’s vision.” (TLN: I’m guessing they can interfere from long distance)

They were talking about doing something horrible. One couldn’t tell what they were talking about, but by observing their nuanced talk, it was revealed that they were in the process of performing an act of historic proportions.

“However, the latter explanation is possible. There might be an owner of Dragon Demon Qi we failed to kill. Someone might have woken up from sleep and there is a possibility that he recovered his Dragon Demon Qi…..”

“According to our records, the last owner of the Dragon Demon Qi, who didn’t belong to us, died 60 years ago. There is no way one could sleep that long.” (TLN: I’m guessing Carlos)

“It might be a real possibility that a new Dragon Demon Qi was born. Could we guarantee that the work we have carried out was perfect? This world is large and isn’t there a lot of humans?”

“Mmmm….!”

A brief silence ensued inside the darkness.

Soon, the woman spoke.

“Currently, I guess he have no choice but to observe. Let us wait until the new master of Dragon Demon Qi reveals himself to the world….”

In between the dispersing light fragments, his red hair was fluttering.

Once he grasped the Dragon Maken, which was flowing with blue light, Azell felt power surge into his entire body. The feeling of helplessness, which had weighed him down since his awakening, disappeared. His old self, who had swept through the battle fields like a storm in the Dragon Demon war, was revived. The energy was making him excited and Azell tried hard to coldly assess the situation.

‘Its condition is better than the time I woke up.’

The Dragon Maken wasn’t in a good condition even if it was emitting a strong power. It was analogous to a person having a hard time getting up when one is sick.

It was inevitable. While the Dragon Maken was hibernating through the winters, it was basically like a wild animal losing all its accumulated energy.

It had even forgotten the name it was given the moment it was born. Azell couldn’t pull out its true ability which he had honed with it.

It had reunited with Azell after jumping over a long period of time, and the only thing it could do was burn its existence. (TLN: basically cannibalize its own energy)

Koo-roo-roo-rooo…. (TLN: growling sfx)

The Earth Dragon shuddered. The quality of power coming from the human, who had challenged it, was very different from before. He was emitting enough pressure for even a dragon to be afraid.

Koong! (TLN: boom!)

The small human took one step and the earth shook.

Koong! (TLN: boom!)

After another step, the atmosphere vibrated and a gust of wind raged.

“Now. Come at me.”

Azell baited the dragon, while smiling.

The human had a presence that was on equal footing with a dragon. Even though the Earth Dragon ran across a situation it didn’t understand, it continued to move.

The Dragon Slayer’s Ritual had already started. The ritual doesn’t end until one side is dead.

Koo-roo-roo-roo…… (TLN: growl)

The Earth Dragon emitted a mighty magical wave. Soon, the Earth Dragon looked to the sky and roared.

Koo-ah-a-ah-ah-ah! (TLN: rawr)

It was the ultimate destructive method emitted by a dragon, Dragon’s Roar!

The attack that had turned over the earth for a radius of several hundred meter was initiated. The forest that had been ruined was about to go through another catastrophe.

However, Azell’s figure disappeared the moment the roar rang out.

Kwa-haha-hat! (TLN: sfx of sword slicing)

The Earth Dragon, who was about to roar, swallowed its breath and it stumbled. A long wound appeared on its neck before the Dragon’s Roar could be used, and its red blood splattered.

Koo-uh-uh-ung! (TLN: dragon in pain sfx)

The Earth Dragon screamed in pain. It was the first time in its life it had experienced pain. After hatching from its egg about hundred and couple score years ago, it had gained independence from its parents. After it had settled down in the corner of the Balan Forest, there had been no existence that was able to wound it.

The Earth Dragon heard Azell’s voice.

“It turns out it is a young dragon.”

Azell was observing the Earth Dragon from atop a half broken tree.

The Earth Dragon had a body larger than a house, so it was strange to hear the expression of it being ‘young’. Dragons had a lifespan of several thousand years, but it matured for 30 years.(TLN: main growth happens in the first 30 years of its life) Afterwards, it becomes the ultimate tyrant with no natural enemies.

The Earth Dragon in front of him had finished its growth and it had an adult body. After its growth period ends, it continues to grow minutely, but it was hard to see the change even if couple hundred years had passed.

Still, Azell decided the Earth Dragon was young. He could tell after one battle that it didn’t have much experience and it was immature.

‘Humans have forgotten the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual, but the Dragons haven’t forgotten it. While it knows about the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual, I guess it doesn’t know anything about fighting a life-and-death battle?’

The Dragon Slayer’s Ritual was a immemorial tradition. It was a pact made between an unknown strong magician and the dragons.

The dragons may be dumb, but the knowledge of the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual was etched into their blood and passed on. Similar to every being able breathe without knowing how to breathe, every dragon knew what the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual was.

However, even if they knew about it, it doesn’t mean they had carried it out before.

Basically, the dragons do not know how to fight very well. The weapons they were born with were too strong and it let them easily achieve victory just by swinging their weapons.

Therefore, there was a big difference between a dragon who is experienced in fighting, and an inexperienced dragon. Moreover, a dragon, who had experienced the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual before, is much more dangerous.

This Earth Dragon fell into neither of those options. This is its first time going through the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual and it had never fought against another dragon. Azell was sure of this fact.

‘If it was experienced then it wouldn’t have used the Dragon’s Roar in that fashion.’

Using the Dragon’s Roar was an overkill when trying to kill one mere human. It was analogous to using a siege weapon to kill a single ant. While it allows one to pour out its maximum power at once, its defense becomes vulnerable. The power protecting its body becomes weak, and an attack that wouldn’t usually scratch it could wound the dragon.

Previously, Azell’s strike was able to leave a deep wound because of this logic.

Koo-roo-roong! Ka-roong! (TLN: more dragon noises)

The Earth Dragon let out a intimidating howl.

Azell was the first strong opponent the dragon has faced. Until now, it had easily killed all of its preys. His threat level was similar to its own race!

During this time, the wound on its neck was rapidly healing. If a human had the same wound then the person would be half dead. However, it had healed as if it was never there.

It had a phenomenal regenerative ability.

‘It’s probably going to get real now?’

It was as Azell predicted. The earth beneath his feet exploded, and stones shot toward him like arrows.

Puh-puh-puh-puh-pung! (TLN: sound of stone hitting trees)

The force of the stone being shot was so strong that it made holes in the beautiful trees.

However, Azell was already gone from that spot. In a flash, he used the Instantaneous Movement method to change location, and he ran towards the Earth Dragon.

Of course, the Earth Dragon didn’t stay in the same place. It hid itself by burrowing into the earth.

‘Alright! That’s more like it.’

Azell realized he was getting excited.

If one thought about it, it was very unlike Azell to wait for the Earth Dragon to heal after the initial attack. Moreover, he should have taken advantage of the Earth Dragon being flustered. He should have settled it in a single bout. If he had done that, then he would have easily succeeded in killing the dragon.

However, during the couple days he had been awake, he had received a lot of stress from his own powerlessness. Now that he had the Dragon Maken in his hand, the desire to experience its power was amplified.

This was why he was committing a illogical act of taking a break even when facing a dragon.

‘I showed a weakness by being drunk on power. I guess it was unavoidable even for me.’ (TLN: he gave the dragon time to heal. he wasn’t thinking straight.)

Azell corrected his complacency, and he refocused his mind. He didn’t have enough information about the current world. While he was ignorant, he could easily lose his life if he was careless.

Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo……. (TLN: sfx of dragon moving through the ground)

The Earth Dragon was moving at high speeds beneath the earth, and the after effect caused the ground to vibrate.

Azell estimated the location of the Earth Dragon. While Azell had his feet on the ground, the Earth Dragon knew his exact location like the back of its hand.

However, Azell also knew the Earth Dragon’s location. Now that his power had been recovered by grasping the Dragon Maken, his senses could detect what his eyes couldn’t see.

‘Right now!’

Soon, Azell moved at lightning speed and he surrounded his body with Protection Magic.

Pa-hak! (TLN: slashing sound)

The Earth Dragon leapt, and its body cut through the blue light.

‘It was too shallow!’

Blood poured out from the long wound on the Earth Dragon’s body.

However, it was too shallow. It had split open the thick hide, but only blood came out. It was comparable to a human getting a slight cut on the skin.

Rather, Azell was the one who had suffered. He rebounded high into the air and his muscle hurt like it had been ripped.

‘Shit! As expected, in my current condition, I can’t just use brute strength.’

Spirit Order allows one to use strength beyond human limits, but in the end, the power is used by a human body. The magical energy is used to painstakingly reinforce the body, and the stronger the body is, the more reinforcement could be used.

However, Azell’s current body was pathetic. After being awaken, he had regained his human-like looks, but that was it. He didn’t have a good enough foundation to correctly use the power he had received from the Dragon maken.

‘Cheap tricks won’t work.’

He was able to achieve tactical victories over all the enemies up until now, but he had to adapt now. He usually secured an advantageous position by deceiving the senses. He used misdirection to catch people off guard.

The problem was these methods wouldn’t work against a dragon.

One couldn’t mislead a dragon’s senses.

It was impossible to artificially distort a dragon’s mind or senses using the Spirit Order’s mind techniques or magic. This limited most of the tactics Azell could use.

Kyah-ah-ah-ah-ah! (TLN: another dragon sfx)

The Earth Dragon, who was swimming beneath the ground, jumped out. It started to roar and the ground shook. The strong vibrations made it nearly impossible for one to stand upright. Moreover, the already messily upturned ground of the forest to move like a wave.

For a human to display one’s strength, it was imperative for the human to have stable footing. If he was a magician then he would have flown through the air like a bird. However he used martial arts and he couldn’t use his strength properly when the surface was unstable. This was why it was important to train the lower body, and strengthen one’s balance. If it was the old days, Azell would have been able to stand on top of a sword swung by his enemy since he had trained his balance to the extreme.

However, even that degree of balance would be useless in this situation.

The ground continued to crumble, and it was like a antlion’s pit.(TLN: you’ll have to google it) What else could he do when the ground eroded and shook?

‘It is smarter than I thought.’

Azell regretted the fact that he gave the Earth Dragon a chance to utilize its strength, and he tried to come up with a countermeasure.

He couldn’t fall down. Spirit Order didn’t have any flight techniques. There existed techniques which allowed one to change direction in mid-air or jump again.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any stable surfaces he could step on so he couldn’t properly use the Instantaneous Movement method. First, he got on a tree, which was some distance from the ground. This afforded him some freedom of movement.

However, the Earth Dragon would not sit idly by, while Azell escaped.

The ground moved in a wave, and it gathered in one place. The earth started to form the shape of a large hand. Several earth hands formed and flew towards him. It had targeted Azell.

‘It’s a construct!’

The dragon used the power of the element it had dominion over. It was able to make multiple entities, which it could control freely. This was called the Dragon’s Construct.

Oooooooooooh! (TLN: sfx construct makes)

The Dragon’s Constructs moved toward him, while emitting a strange sound.

Azell was able to move by stepping on empty air, but there was a limit to it. The moment his mobility decreased, the Dragon’s Constructs swept towards Azell.

“Hmmm!”

The blue sword light danced wildly. Every time he swung his sword a sharp flash of light followed in its trajectory. The Constructs that were struck were cut very easily.

He was able to cut the Dragon’s Construct, but he couldn’t hold them back. Would an existence formed from earth receive damage from being cut?

However, Azell’s sword energy was like a storm.

Every time the sword was swung the atmosphere shook. Moreover, everything within its reach of influence were broken into pieces and dispersed.

Hooooooooooong! (TLN: sfx of tail moving through air)

The Earth Dragon’s tail, which was thicker than a whole tree, flew in like a whip. Azell was defending against the rocks, so he was caught off-guard. It was timed in a way where he didn’t have a chance to avoid it.

Azell yelled.

“Shit! Let’s do this!”

GGwaaaaaaaaang! (TLN: boom!)

Explosive sound rang out.

A crater formed from the impact, and it shook the earth. In the middle, Azell and the Earth Dragon were flung apart in opposite direction. Azell turned several cycle in the air before he landed on the ground and he slid back an extra several dozen meters.

“Ooh-ook. I almost died.”

He had offset some of the damage by jumping over the terrain. Azell’s hand reached toward his nose. There was blood flowing out of his nose. Then the hand gripping the Dragon Maken burst open.

However, it was a low cost for going head-to-head with an attack that could destroy an entire castle. Also, his opponent didn’t escape unscathed.

Koo-roo-roo-roo-roo….. (TLN: another dragon sfx)

The Earth Dragon let out a painful sound. Surprisingly, the Earth Dragon also rolled a couple times on the ground after being thrown from the collision with Azell.

Moreover, the tail that had hit against the Dragon Maken was in a sorry state. The bone had been cut. The tail was hanging on by a thread, and great amount of blood fountained forth.

While in this state, the Earth Dragon’s eyes met Azell’s, and it was spooked. It roared, while it was gripped with fear.

Kaaaaaaaaaaah! (TLN: dragon sfx)

The Dragon’s Roar exploded forth and the earth flipped over.

“So you still want to continue with the trial of strength?”

Azell was still reeling from the impact. It was too late to dodge with the Instantaneous Movement method.

‘Then….. This is my chance!’

Azell held up his Dragon Maken with determination. Magical energy circulated in high speed between his body and his blade. Then light emanated forth.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The ground he was on exploded, but Azell kept his position without moving. The light that was surrounding his body blocked the vibration and the exploding earth out. However, numerous scratches started to form on his body.

Azell focused enough that he forgot about all of his pain. At this moment, he would die if the flow of his power was disturbed even by a small amount!

His Ring of Life vibrated vigorously, and it seemed like it was about to break. The magical energy accelerated inside his energy pulse as if it was about to burn. This brought back the memories from the Dragon Demon War. The moment he faced a strong enemy with his life on the line, he recalled the ultimate skill he used through his sword!

“Here it comes!”

After the shout, his bloody body started to move.

Ggwaroo-rong! Ggwa-roong! (TLN: Thunder sfx)

Beneath the blue sky, thunder rained down and the thunderclap rang out.

Blue thunderbolts appeared around the Dragon Maken at its center. It flared up while it cut through the tidal wave of earth. From inside, Azell’s blue eyes lit up.

‘Thunder Dragon’s Horn!’

The body, which had survived the vibrations of the earth being flipped over, accelerated and broke the speed of sound. This was the secret technique he had used in the Dragon Demon War, which allowed him to cut down a Dragon Demon protected by powerful magic in a single strike!

Ggwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang! (TLN: explosion sfx)

The sound of the explosion rang out after the blue streak of lightning had parted the Earth Dragon. (TLN: he broke the sound barrier, so sound was delayed)

It rang out a second late. Similarly, the wave of earth was also parted by Azell, and there was a vacuum between Azell and the dragon.

Koo-rook, ggooo-goo-gook….! (TLN: more dragon sfx )

A big groan came out from the Earth Dragon’s mouth, and the impact caused a large cloud of dust to rise up. Inside the cloud of dust, the Earth Dragon’s body was cut diagonally, and it sank while red blood fountained forth.

From beyond the dust, Azell was able to clearly see the shadow of the Earth Dragon fall.

Kooooooong…..! (TLN: sfx of body hitting ground, boom….!)

The large body of the dragon fell, and the sound of the crash reverberated.

It was long after the ground stopped lurching. Azell, who had dirt all over his body, started walking shakily.

“Cole-rok, Cole-rok.(TLN: sound of a wet cough) This is driving me nuts.”

He had defeated the Earth dragon with comparative ease, but Azell wasn’t in a good condition. The blood loss from his superficial wound made him dizzy, and he also had a lot of internal damage.

Moreover……

‘Ah Ah.’

The power that had charged his entire body was slowly leaking out.

The power he had received from the Dragon Maken was temporary.

The Dragon Maken used his soul as an ingredient, and it was refined using magical energy and the dragon’s power. It was a one-of-a-kind ultimate weapon that exists solely for him.

For it to exist, Azell had to be there. It had to resonate with Azell’s soul, swallow his thoughts, and be injected with magical energy for it to maintain its existence.

This meant that during Azell’s long sleep, the Dragon Maken was destined to slowly lose its sense of self, and it would cease to exist. Carlos deserved to be called an Arch Mage just from the fact that he was able to preserve the Dragon Maken for 220 years. Even though it had jumped through time to return to Azell’s hands, it wasn’t able recharge itself from Azell. Instead, it was about to fall apart after giving him the power that formed it.

“I’m sorry.”

Azell apologized to the Dragon Maken.

In Azell’s way of thinking, weapons were mere tools and he didn’t confer any more meaning to it. He had no reasons to cling to it. However, the Dragon Maken was made from his soul and it was made to be his other self. It couldn’t talk, but it had a will of its own. There was an internal sympathetic link between Azell and the sword.

This was why Azell apologized to the Dragon Maken as if it was alive.

Ssssssssssss……

After losing its sense of self, the Dragon Maken disintegrated like dust. Azell looked at the dissipating blue foam, and he made a promise to the Dragon Maken.

“Sooner or later… We’ll meet again.”

He’ll revive the Dragon Maken the day he recovers his former strength.

Once the Dragon Maken disappeared, Azell staggered toward the Earth Dragon’s corpse.

The Dragon Slayer’s Ritual had ended. As the victor, it was time for him to claim his prize.

Azell’s strike had blown half of its body away. Its heart was half gone, but it was still palpitating while blood spurted out.

As the victor of the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual, he had to drink the dragon’s blood to obtain part of its strength.

However, he didn’t have to drink the enormous quantity of the dragon’s blood. The drinking of blood was a symbolic gesture, which completed the ritual.

Azell cupped his hand near the torn heart, and he collected the falling blood. Then he slowly raised it up to his mouth and drank it.

Doo-goon! (TLN: ba-dump)

His heart pulsed.

The life force within his injured body circulated and his wound started to heal quickly.

Doo-goon! Doo-goon! Doo-goon! (TLN: heart beating sfx)

Azell’s hearted started beating out of control, and this caused him to sit down.

In front of him, the corpse of the Earth Dragon, even all of the blown away parts, started to emit a light.

The lights floated into the air and it gathered towards Azell. The ritual had been passed down since the ancient times, and the loser had to donate everything to the victor.

Oooooooooooh! (TLN: energy sfx)

The whirlwind of light wrapped around Azell’s figure and amidst these light Azell’s consciousness turned white.