Chapter 222 – Dragon’s Nest
#222.
Early in the morning, not long after the sun rises, the world turns green. The 20 members of the Radiant Knights gathered in front of the huge dungeon where demons rose.
Gaon and the others were standing on a cliff overlooking the dungeon and watching them.
Said Louisiana.
“You’re here at last. Is there no entrance other than here? Do you really just have to keep this place?”
“Yes. The demon dragon’s barrier spreads throughout the dungeon, making it impossible to break through new entrances. I don’t know if it’s Rouziena, but Izabella Martinez can’t.”
Recalling the last time she had exploded with jealousy, I sneaked up on her, and she pretended not to, but hardened her expression and put a grin on her lips.
“Okay? Certainly, seeing the energy, it would be impossible if it wasn’t like me. Besides, that level of magic would affect the mind, right? There was a reason you prepared.”
“That’s right. That Magi sharpens the mind. Emotions change drastically even over insignificant things. Does everyone have the amulet I gave you? Be careful not to tear it.”
“Don’t worry too much. Rather, the knights enter? Go ahead.”
While talking, I saw the scene of the Knights of Light entering the dungeon after all preparations had been completed. Gaon hurriedly left a request for Chorin and Hayeon.
“Chorin-san, please support Lougiena well. You can’t let Isabella run away. And Hayeon, you protect Chorin. Got it?”
“All right!”
“Yes! Master.”
Gaon, who heard the lively answer, felt a little uneasy, but thought that she would be fine if she was out in Luge, so she shook off her lingering feelings and jumped off the cliff.
As the quantity and quality of auras increased, the achievement of pungwolbo naturally deepened. Gaon landed on the ground with light footwork as if flying in the sky.
Standing in front of the dungeon like that, Gaon inspected the amulet once again, then followed the trail of the knights at a certain distance.
‘It’s been 15 years. Here too.’
The dungeon was very wide, befitting a dragon’s rarity, it was enough for all the knights to stand side by side. And throughout the space, demonic spirits descended like fog.
In his previous life, the seeds of discord germinated within the knights affected by this demonic energy, causing unnecessary damage.
Fortunately, the talisman supported by the 2nd prince and Hirencia, which emits light to prevent Magi from approaching beyond a certain point, were in good condition.
Gaon laughed as he sneaked a look through his senses from a distance.
‘There won’t be any problems.’
The dragon’s nest is guarded by rare guardians, commonly called dragon warriors, whose level is only up to 9 stars.
In her current state, she’d probably be able to clear the dungeon and get the heart.
Thud- thud-
As I walked through the wide and long aisle, I felt as if I had returned to my previous life.
Is it nostalgia for the past? It was a memory stained with regret and screams, let alone longing, but it was still deeply imprinted in my head like a painter.
Memories of the past began to flicker through the densely blooming magi.
***
“Haap!”
Kwajijik!
Another dragon soldier was split in two by the mighty blow and collapsed.
The guy was last. After that, only the sound of rough breathing filled the hall. All of the knights were exhausted from the fierce battle.
The Knight Commander, Accur Linesis, shouted.
“Gather the bodies in one place! When they are organized, they take turns guarding each other! Let the rest rest!”
At his direction, the knights hurriedly carried the corpses scattered here and there to the corners. Thanks to this, the exhausted stamina was further depleted, but he moved silently without complaining.
‘There are no problems yet.’
Gaon touched the amulet in his arms.
He has this amulet of purification so he is not affected by demons, but other Templars were not. They will be on edge right now and feel annoyed for no reason.
Nevertheless, order is maintained because mental strength has been strengthened through hard training. If not, he might have been stabbing his colleagues rather than his enemies.
I threw all the bodies and sat down on the floor to rest, and someone sat next to me.
It was Hirencia.
“… Gaon Kyung. How is your body? Are there any wounds anywhere?”
His eyes were full of worry. The sight of it made my heart ache for no reason.
Gaon reflexively tried to ask if he was okay, but hurriedly fixed his head and said.
“It’s okay.”
One short word. Hirencia flinched at the cold reply that made the concern in her words colorless, then lowered her head and stared at her floor.
An awkward silence fell.
‘What’s your business?’
A month ago, Gaon, who had been called by Austin Chevrons, stopped meeting Hirencia. He unilaterally notified that he would end the matchmaking and took away all his data.
Afterwards, Hirencia said that she would visit him every day and ask him what was going on, but several times she returned with the answer that it was nothing.
It lasted for about a week and after it stopped, I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore, but now that it came out like this, it felt burdensome.
More than anything else, she was nervous that in any case she would find out about his plans.
Time passed without a hitch, and after 10 minutes, shift time approached.
The next turn was Team 2, including Hirencia.
Just when she let out a sigh, wanting to get over it without incident, Hirencia opened her mouth.
“Gaon-gyeong. Did I do something wrong?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“But it wasn’t like this before. Also what happened? Maybe your father…”
Hirencia is a smart woman. It is not difficult to predict the cause of Gaon’s sudden change in attitude.
The moment I finally figured out the answer and was about to ask the question,
“No. Rather, it seems that the vice-captain’s group is standing guard. Let’s go. You may hear a bitter voice.”
Gaon cut off his words.
“But…”
“Stop making weird assumptions. Come on.”
Gaon was uncomfortable with Hirencia. In just a few hours he will have to betray them. He did not want to leave even the slightest gap to interfere with such a decision.
I didn’t want to have more conversations with this woman who stirred her reason just by being in the same room.
In response to the cold response, Hirencia mumbled her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she gave up and stood up.
“… I’ll go. Thank you for your concern.”
Despite Gaon’s rude behavior of not even making eye contact with her, Hirencia didn’t point out her, but instead expressed gratitude and walked away.
Gaon sighed deeply as he looked at the back of a woman shining brightly alone even in this dungeon covered in black magic.
Then, desperately trying to forget her, she checked her plans in her head.
‘For now, it’s as expected. Keep going like this and steal it the moment you see the heart. Everything is ready, there are no variables. Perfect.’
Nothing is perfect in this world. Believing that it is perfect is in most cases the best number, and there is a possibility that it will easily collapse when a variable occurs.
But buried in the thought of forgetting Hirencia and concentrating on the plan, he couldn’t afford to look around.
Later, while changing shifts and being vigilant, I spent time thinking only about the dragon’s heart in my head.
And after a while, the knights finished their rest and went deeper.
In the process, there was a series of raids, but as they got used to it, the speed of their advance gradually slowed down.
And now, about 3 hours later, the knights arrived at the door where the demonic spirit leaked out.
“Looks like this is the epicenter of Magi. Everyone get in formation!”
[Yes!]
At the command of the knight commander, the members moved in an orderly fashion to form a solid defense. Jin, who can complement each other’s weaknesses, seemed like an absolute shield that would never be pierced.
Of course, as much as that, it would easily collapse the moment even one of them was out of alignment.
In other words, the collapse of the formation was inevitable when Gaon’s departure was scheduled.
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help it.’
I don’t want to live miserably in this life. I wanted to live a good life, receiving admiration, not just sucking my fingers and envying and being jealous of others.
To do so, the heart must be unconditionally in hand. Sacrifice is inevitable.
When Gaon was self-reasoning and revealing his ugly greed, the knight commander shouted.
“Enter!”
Kiki-Ik-
The old door opened with a loud noise.
At the same time, a tremendous amount of demonic energy attacked them, giving the illusion that the air was becoming heavy. The fog of magic that was so thick that it was impossible to see an inch ahead filled the interior.
As we raised our vigilance to the extreme and prepared for an unexpected attack, soon the fog cleared and the interior of the large cavity was revealed.
There was another luxurious door at the end of the circular space.
“… It looks like that room is over.”
“Yes, I think I can just pass here.”
After the leader and Hirencia said that, they nodded and stepped forward. As the central axis moved, of course the other knights who formed the outskirts had no choice but to move.
Finally fully in the cavity, they moved forward cautiously.
The reason they were so nervous was simple. It was because of the 5 Dragon Soldiers standing near the door like stone statues.
Among them, the dragon soldier in the middle was taller than the others by a good head.
“Vice-captain. I’ll take that big guy. In the meantime, lead the rest of the team and defeat the mercenary soldiers. Got it?”
“All right. I will finish it quickly and join you.”
“Then go first.”
Paaang!
After saying that, the knight commander rushed. Due to his formidable leg strength, his body elongated while drawing an afterimage, and in an instant collided with the dragon soldier presumed to be the leader.
Quaang!
A strong shockwave and a loud noise rang out, and with the signal from Hirencia, the knights and dragon soldiers rushed in and collided.
Gaon also got in the middle and found a gap to escape while dealing with dragon soldiers in moderation.
‘There’s no need to fight hard.’
In preparation for this, I prepared a teleport scroll that I could escape at any time. The moment he obtains the dragon’s heart, he intends to use it to escape.
Gaon, who was just looking for an opportunity like a hyena, stumbled as if he had deliberately made a mistake in his turn.
“Oh!”
“Oh, no!”
Kwajik!
As a result, one of the knights who deflected the dragon soldier’s attack and showed a gap in the impact was unable to block the subsequent attack and was stamped with a club and turned to mush.
The corpse, whose muscles had not fully hardened yet, trembled and rocked on the floor.
Gaon held back the nausea and retreated to avoid the ensuing attack.
Of course, others had no choice but to fill the vacancy, and the smooth fight became a tightrope again.
The life-or-death moment that does not allow even the slightest distraction continues. Only then did Gaon feel relieved and headed for the door at the end of the joint.
The already unstable formation completely collapsed at the same time as he left.
The knights who were suddenly exposed to the dragon soldier’s attack began to suffer one after another.
Hirencia cried out to Gaon, relieved of what had happened in the blink of an eye.
“Ga Ongyeong, come back! Gaonkyung—!”
An anxious voice grabbed his ankle, but Gaon’s greed easily shook it off and he continued moving.
When he finally reached the door, he pushed it hard and went inside.
As expected, there were no mercenary soldiers in the room. There was only one, the dragon’s heart.
Like the magic core, which is created from the condensation of an enormous amount of mana, the dragon’s heart was also shaped like a jewel with a tremendous amount of energy in its body.
The glamorous light naturally encourages greed.
“Awesome. Also great.”
Soon, this object will be yours. Embracing this enormous amount of mana in one’s body, it gains a reputation that no one can match.
At that thought, Gaon tore the corners of his mouth all the way to his ears, smiled, and reached out his hand toward the dragon’s heart.
Sigh-
It was the moment I had just picked up the jewel.
-Kuaaaaa
A terrifying roar came from beyond the door, and goosebumps ran through my body. Memories passing by in an instant. Did you just call this a kaleidoscope?
Whether it was a fluke or an instinctive move, Gaon threw himself unconsciously.
Wow!
Immediately after, the mercenary broke through the door and swung a greatsword to smash the place where he was.
‘Damn it!’
Gaon, dismayed, put his hand right into his chest. To use scrolling.
And,
“Uh… ?”
Gaon could realize that the armor had been cut off.
It was a bonus that the amulet inside it was torn.
The talisman of purification grants resistance to demonic energy. Without that, there is no choice but to be exposed to the demonic energy emitted by the dragon’s heart.
In other words, it means that Gaon cannot resist Magi.
At the same time as his thoughts reached there, the demonic dragon’s heart in his hand began to be absorbed slowly through his body.
At the same time, the vision is stained with darkness.
