SWNOVELS
Chapter 391
‘I forgot.’
-I also forgot.
The mechanical dragon was so powerful that Choi Yeonseung had forgotten that Illaphael had been captured. The Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons, who had given him a gift, would be disappointed if he knew that.
With a sharp metallic sound, the mechanical dragon launched Illaphael into the air. The monster had tied up the angel with a metal cable to prevent him from moving.
It wasn’t just Illaphael. Several other household members had also been captured, human hunters being among them.
‘What? Did so many people sneak in?’
The other household members seemed confused by the numerous immobilized hostages. They genuinely wanted to proceed with the attack anyway, but those hostages were the household members of other constellations.
Mistakenly hitting one of the household members could lead to severe problems later on.
“You damn lizard reptile!” Golodat shouted ferociously, exploding in anger. However, such a provocation didn’t work on the mechanical dragon. It swung the hostages in front of it like a shield with a cunning light in its eyes.
The dragon was trying to buy time to recover. contemporary romance
‘This is really bad. I’ll miss my chance.’
Choi Yeonseung frowned as he looked at the mechanical dragon. He knew what this meant because he had fought so many powerful hunters that he was bored of it.
In a fight against powerful monsters, momentum was vital. Once he had the advantage, it was crucial to not lose it.
He had to be unrelenting and unleash a storm of attacks!
-That’s what I think as well. This dragon could turn into a real nuisance if you miss this chance to kill it.
-If you ignore the hostages and attack...
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ earnestly asks you not to do that.]
The goddess of balance stopped Choi Yeonseung.
Constellations were generally intolerant and never let go of grudges. Even if it was unpreventable, they wouldn’t forget it if Choi Yeonseung hit their household members.
‘If I avoid the hostages and attack...’
As though the mechanical dragon had read Choi Yeonseung’s thoughts, it subtly moved the hostages to shield its vital points.
-Severe Commanding Ritual!
“Argh! Irokwalai, you bastard!” screamed Golodat. One of the captured household members had cast black magic at him. “Are you so desperate to escape that you lost your mind?!”
“I... I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“What an excuse, hah! I’ll make sure to borrow that when I disembowel you!”
The raid took a turn for the worse after the hunters were forced to halt their attacks.
Choi Yeonseung was focusing on trying to find a gap in the dragon’s defense.
‘There has to be an opening.’
No matter how skillfully the mechanical dragon moved the hostages to defend itself, there had to be a gap in its defense.
Choi Yeonseung would attack with all his might the moment he saw an opening.
“Choi Yeonseung!” shouted Illaphael.
“!”
The angel had amassed so much internal energy that he was on the verge of exploding. He continued, “Never mind me! Just attack.”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung ignored him. Even if Illaphael urged him to attack, Choi Yeonseung had to be careful since he had received a lot of rewards.
“Just attack through me! I am prepared to face any type of death since I have failed to carry out my master’s orders. I swear by my honor and my name. Attack!”
“How wonderful! Choi Yeonseung! That weak angel Illaphael wants you to attack him! Attack!” Golodat shouted excitedly as he blocked the black magic.
Couldn’t they finish off the mechanical dragon if they sacrificed Illaphael and attacked?
Choi Yeonseung was getting very irritated, but he put up with it. There were currently more than a hundred hunters to worry about, but the household members were just being loud and obnoxious, not really helping.
“I give the orders here, Illaphael. If you’re going to say such things, just get out of here!”
“I can’t do that...”
Just as Illaphael was about to refute it, he suddenly spotted a black shadow emerging on him.
[’Shadow Crown’ controls you!]
“...???”
The power of the Noble Crown Collector, Shadow Crown.
It was a strong power of domination that allowed the caster to turn anyone touched by the shadow into their puppet.
Illaphael remembered this power very vividly because it had completely overwhelmed him during the siege of Paris.
...But now, there was no collector constellation around them. Above all, the collector constellation had become miserably weak after losing that constellation battle back in the United Kingdom.
‘Why is this power appearing now...?!’
Before Illaphael could even feel horrified, his body moved on its own. Illaphael, stained by the inky shadow, tore through the metal cables that immobilized him.
“...Y-you said it, and he really did it?!”
Golodat was baffled. To be honest, he had never thought this angel would be able to escape on his own. If he was that strong, why did he only escape now?
“I don’t understand it either...”
Illaphael summoned a spear and cut through the cables that tied the hostages next to him.
The mechanical dragon had only been paying attention to the household members and hunters that were down on the ground. Therefore, it didn’t manage to react to this surprise attack and lost all the hostages.
“Illaphael! Amazing. As expected of the household member of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons!”
Choi Yeonseung was impressed. Even with the Shadow Crown, he hadn’t thought that Illaphael would manage to escape. He had underestimated his strength.
It wasn’t known what type of device the mechanical dragon used to hold the hostages. However, in order to completely manipulate the hostages like a bunch of puppets, the dragon had to be using a very intricate and sophisticated mechanism.
-N-no... I don’t think that’s the case?
-We’ll talk about it later! I don’t have time to answer you right now!
Choi Yeonseung cut off the goddess of sloth and charged forward. He couldn’t miss the opportunity Illaphael had given him with the chaos he had created.
“Illaphael, take the hostages and widen the distance!”
“What?! No! I want to help with the attack!” Illaphael replied harshly. Why did he need to take care of the household members of other constellations? He just wanted to thrust another spear into the enemy.
However, his body moved on its own according to Choi Yeonseung’s instructions. He spread his four wings and moved as fast as an arrow, taking the hostages away from the mechanical dragon.
Han Seha was amazed by the sight.
‘Wasn’t that angel a spiteful one? That’s very unusual of him.’
Bam!
An eerie sound reverberated throughout the battlefield. It was different from any of the previous attacks from the hunters. It shook everyone’s very existence.
Choi Yeonseung’s concentrated energy broke through the exposed scales of the mechanical dragon, tearing through them and reaching its vital points.
-!!!
For the first time in its life, the mechanical dragon’s eyes were filled with fear and pain. It gave up on defending against the other enemies and focused entirely on Choi Yeonseung.
Grrrrrrung!
At that moment, the hounds sent by the Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood changed in their appearance. They were normally smaller than a hunter, but now they were the size of baby dragons.
“...?!”
“?!??”
This unexpected transformation surprised the hunters more than the mechanical dragon.
-Fenrir! They’re still around?!
The goddess of sloth was shaken. Among the Abyssal monsters, the ones called Fenrir had always been notorious for their violence and ferocity.
The goddess of balance had thought they had gone extinct because they constantly attacked constellations indiscriminately, but it turned out that someone had actually been raising them...
After all, that constellation had ‘Madness’ in his name for a reason... But even so, weren’t these hounds the kind of creatures that could betray their master at any moment?
Grrrung!
The transformed hounds growled fiercely and stood in front of Choi Yeonseung. The onslaught of the mechanical dragon had fueled their bloodlust, but they still focused on protecting Choi Yeonseung.
Bam!
Without missing the opportunity, Choi Yeonseung fired his concentrated energy into the mechanical dragon.
Golodat admired Choi Yeonseung’s attack.
‘Amazing!’
To be honest, when he had learnt that Choi Yeonseung was a martial artist, the werewolf had thought that he was just a weird guy using a weird skill. But seeing him in action, Golodat was very impressed.
It seemed that no amount of penetration magic could match the pure white concentrated energy that Choi Yeonseung had just created.
It was a dazzling light that pierced through any magic and technology, disintegrating them!
The mechanical dragon’s eyes were slowly losing their vitality. The monster was emitting less and less steam, and the noise of its machinery was dying down.
Slash!
Choi Yeonseung dealt the final blow, completely tearing off the thick metal armor and the scales of the dragon.
The mechanical dragon’s head fell down.
[The mechanical dragon, the master of all inorganic materials, has collapsed!]
[The ‘Second Abyss Kingdom’ has become Earth’s realm!]
[The power of existence has increased!]
[...]
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ is grateful because her power of existence has increased.]
-It’s not a big deal, goddess.
[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ says he will thank you this once because his power of existence has increased.]
-......
Choi Yeonseung had a dazed expression. Why did this constellation keep pretending to be close to him?
[The path to the Third Abyss Kingdom has opened.]
***
Golodat said, “Choi Yeonseung, I will pour it myself.”
Uldurg was surprised. He hadn’t expected this werewolf to pay such respects to a human.
Golodat poured wine into Choi Yeonseung’s cup to the point of overflowing. It was a precious drink given by the Endless Gourmet Seeker.
“I don’t drink...”
“...”
As Golodat’s ears and tail hung down sadly, Choi Yeonseung quickly changed his words.
“...But I guess I can have one drink. We have reason to celebrate after all.”
“I knew it!”
Of course, it wasn’t just the household members. All the hunters were participating.
It was a simple party that Korean hunters referred to as an afterparty, but this gathering was special, and this kind of excitement couldn’t be experienced anywhere else.
Only those who had completed a difficult raid could experience such a thrill!
These hunters and household members had risked their lives countless times, lived in a state of tension for days, and now they could finally relax and rejoice with drinks and food.
This was heaven.
Grrrung... Grung...
“Ah, here it is.”
As the hounds approached and rubbed their heads against him, Choi Yeonseung gladly petted them with pleasure and gave them some treats.
It was very admirable that they had suppressed their bloodlust and thrown themselves in front of him to block the attacks from the mechanical dragon.
[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ says to come back now.]
Grung. Grung.
“...?”
The hounds pretended not to hear their master and stuck to Choi Yeonseung.
[...The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ orders them to come back soon.]
This time, the hounds didn’t even pretend not to hear him.
[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ says he will allow them to stay for a while. But he warns them to never forget who their master is.]
“...”
-...
Choi Yeonseung and the goddess of sloth were lost for words. How could this constellation be so pitiful...?!
“Hey, go away already! Don’t pretend to be close,” Han Seha said enviously when she saw the hounds clinging to Choi Yeonseung.
Yiippp....
“...N-no... Was I too harsh? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
Han Seha apologized and petted the hounds, and in response, the hounds wagged their tails in excitement.
Seeing this, the goddess of sloth worried if she should stop it or not. These hounds weren’t ordinary beasts after all...
***
Golodat also handed the fairy a drink.
The household member of the Chef of Endless Gluttony hadn’t played much of a role, but Golodat was in a good mood, so he didn’t care about that.
“Drink! I’ll pour you a drink too.”
......
“Why aren’t you answering? Are you angry?”
Yes. I am angry.
“???”
Golodat was taken aback. There was no reason for her to be angry.
“Are you angry at your own weakness?”
No! I am angry at those who betrayed me and stabbed me in the back. We are all evil god constellations, but they betrayed me and stole my memories and abilities! Perhaps they were ordered by the Master of Slowness and Silence.
“What nonsense...?”
Golodat realized that this household member wasn’t in control. It was the constellation speaking through her.
Thanks to the opening of the Third Abyss Kingdom, his memories had returned. I just wanted to thank you.
“I-is that so? I’m glad...”
Golodat was usually fearless, but now he felt a bit overwhelmed. No matter how brave a mortal was, it was difficult to withstand the overwhelming presence of a constellation.
No! It’s the same with you good god constellations who looked down on me and persecuted me! Do you think I will overlook it?
“Eeek! Don’t forget who’s gathered here...”
I dare them to bring it on. I won’t avoid them or hide!
“...!!”
At this moment, all the constellations present were stunned.
This was the incarnation of the Chef of Endless Gluttony. The power of existence he exuded was on par with that of the top-tier constellations.
How... was there such a strong constellation?
You can’t attack me. All of you constellations are cowards. You don’t know how to fight. You only know how to stab others in the back!
The Chef of Endless Gluttony was speaking fiercely when he suddenly saw Choi Yeonseung and paused.
Then he said hesitantly, I’ll forget it today for the sake of my benefactor’s reputation. But beware! Those who betrayed and insulted me will never be able to escape!
With those words, the voice of the Chef of Endless Gluttony faded away, and so did the fairy.
The household members of the constellations who were present were frozen, all of them dumbfounded.
That was extremely shocking.