Crunch.
Debris crumbled around , and the overwhelming stench of burnt remains filled the air.
The walls, scorched by the heat, were lting. The oppressive cold that had filled the space earlier was gone, replaced by an indescribable heat radiating everywhere.
"Cough."
Amid the wreckage, I pushed myself up, forcing my body upright from under the debris.
"Ptoo."
I spat out a mouthful of blood as I struggled to sit up.
Throb.
"Tsk..."
Pain shot through my torso, making grimace.
My ribs were undoubtedly broken, and the searing pain in my abdon hinted at more significant internal damage.
On top of that, the spot where the sword had impaled , as well as the gash across my chest, weren’t trivial injuries.
"Damn it."
Even worse, the cold had infiltrated my body, penetrating deeply.
I imdiately began circulating my energy.
Sssss.
Heat spread through , alleviating the frostbite sowhat.
Kicking aside debris, I began walking. The explosion had hurled against the wall, leaving montarily unconscious.
At most, I’d been out for a few seconds.
"Hah."
Regulating my breathing, I pressed on.
"That was close."
If I hadn’t used my energy to brace for impact, my insides might’ve been completely ruptured.
After all the abuse my body had taken, I had learned to preserve it—well, sowhat. At least enough to avoid worse injuries.
Brushing dust off my shoulders, I kept moving.
"Why is there so much damn smoke?"
I infused a small amount of energy into my hand and waved it.
Whoosh.
The air cleared, pushing away the thick smoke.
Finally, with my vision restored, I continued toward my target.
The wall ahead had a massive hole blasted through it, and the debris inside was sizzling, resembling molten lava.
And below that—
"...Ugh... cough, cough..."
Mang lay collapsed, a gaping hole in his abdon.
I walked toward him, observing his mangled form.
One arm was torn off, and his abdominal wound was severe. His condition was far from good.
"Regeneration is slow," I thought.
His missing arm hadn’t regrown, and neither had the damage to his torso healed.
Considering his earlier regeneration, I had expected such injuries to nd quickly.
"So it’s not unlimited regeneration," I mused.
Perhaps there were limits, or maybe there was a fixed number of tis he could regenerate.
"Hrk..."
Mang groaned, coughing up blood. Seeing Woo Hyuk’s face in that state was a strange and unsettling sight.
"You okay?" I asked.
Of course, I knew the answer. It was a rhetorical question.
He turned his gaze toward .
"Hah... hah... damn it..."
Despite his grim expression, he let out a weak, bitter laugh.
"...I didn’t think it would end up like this..."
Every word he spoke was accompanied by more blood spilling from his mouth.
It seed clear that his regeneration had completely stalled.
Just in case, I activated my senses, maintaining my guard. I wasn’t about to fall for any tricks.
"Just a re fledgling... who was only just born... and yet, you’ve managed to ddle this much."
His words drew a click of my tongue.
"Let make this clear—I wasn’t trying to interfere."
If it weren’t for people getting dragged into this ss, I wouldn’t have gotten involved. I wouldn’t even have co to the Northern Sea.
That made wonder.
"What happened to him in the previous tiline?"
Mang had ntioned being on the verge of resurrection, which ant he should have made his move back then.
But I had no recollection of such an event in my past life.
"Either he succeeded in hiding after his resurrection..."
"Or he failed entirely."
"Or, like now, soone else prevented his resurrection."
One of the three.
Which one could it be? There was no way to know at this mont.
"You said you were the third, right?"
"...Yes. I am..."
"Honestly, I don’t care about that."
"..."
It was obvious he’d start a long-winded explanation, but I didn’t have ti for that.
Not for —for him.
I decided to cut to the chase and ask the most important question.
"Who is the Dragon King? What’s his deal?"
Straight to the point.
At my abrupt question, Mang turned his gaze toward .
The Dragon King—a past villain who had caused untold bloodshed, the first calamity to descend upon this world, and soone who was undoubtedly plotting sothing even now.
I needed answers.
"...Hah... hah..."
In response, Mang chuckled weakly.
"...You’re cold, aren’t you?"
"What?"
"Your dear companion’s body is dying, and yet that’s what you’re choosing to ask?"
His words made frown deeply.
"Cut the nonsense. Are you going to answer or not?"
"...If I do, will you let live?"
"Maybe. If you beg while answering, I might consider it."
"Heh..."
He laughed bitterly, blood pouring from his torso with every chuckle. I kept a close eye on him.
"He’s at his limit," I thought. His lack of regeneration wasn’t a choice—it was beyond his control now.
As I observed, Mang suddenly spoke.
"Do you want an answer?"
"Oh? Are you finally—"
"Ptoo!"
He spat bloody saliva at , forcing to tilt my head aside to avoid it.
My fist swung reflexively.
Crash!
"Guh!"
"Damn it."
Seeing his head snap back from the blow, I imdiately realized my mistake. I hadn’t intended to hit him anymore.
Retracting my hand, I glared at him with irritation.
"If you’re not going to answer, fine, but why spit at ?"
I’d punched him without aning to.
"...Hah... hah... heh..."
Despite the hit, Mang chuckled weakly, his expression dazed.
"Do you think you’ve won?"
"Huh?"
"Little Ninth... you don’t realize the grave mistake you’ve made."
"What mistake?"
"...Because of this choice... you’ll ultimately lose to the Dragon King and be devoured... You’ll never defeat him."
Hearing this, I let out a dry chuckle.
"Like you?"
"..."
Mang fell silent at my retort, but the pause didn’t last long.
"Yes. Like ..."
His voice carried a strange emptiness, his acknowledgnt tinged with resignation.
"Do you truly think you, left alone, can defeat him?"
"What? Because you’re not here?"
"The other Purebloods were devoured by him. What could a lone child like you possibly do? It’s impossible."
Hearing this, I idly stroked my chin.
"You will ultimately..."
"So what’s your point?"
I cut him off mid-sentence. His words were heading in a tireso direction, and I needed to steer the conversation back.
"You failed, so you think I will too? Is that it?"
"It’s not that simple—"
"Bullshit. That’s exactly what you’re saying."
Arrogant bastards. Conversations with them never went anywhere.
"I get it—you’re still mad about getting beaten down ages ago. If you were too weak, just shut up and stay down. Stop whining like this."
"...Hah?"
"Hah, my ass."
I let out a sigh.
This wasn’t the kind of conversation I wanted to have. If he wasn’t going to give real answers, there was no point in dragging it out.
"If Woo Hyuk’s body dies here, it’ll be a problem too."
That was sothing I couldn’t let happen.
It was ti to wrap things up. I stared at him and spoke.
"How do you know whether I’ll win or lose against the Dragon King? You lost to , didn’t you?"
"...!"
My words hit a nerve, and Mang’s expression twisted in anger.
"Do you think defeating in this feeble body ans you’ve truly won?"
"Feeble or not, you lost."
"...Hah!"
Mang let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Though I may have lost this fight—"
His attempt to justify himself brought a smile to my face.
"Gotcha."
That was what I had been waiting for.
From the ground beneath my feet, I felt a subtle shift.
This was the signal that the conditions had been t.
Feeling the sensation clearly, I silently commanded:
"Devour."
"Do you truly believe you can defeat the Dragon King—!?"
Mang’s words abruptly stopped.
Fwoooosh—!
From my feet, black energy surged toward him.
"Guh!?"
Enveloped in the dark aura, Mang writhed, his injured body thrashing. Yet the energy seed more resilient than even I had expected.
"What... what are you doing—!?"
Crunch.
"...Ugh!!"
A sharp sound echoed in my ears, the sound of sothing being bitten down on.
It ca from within the aura.
The first crunch was followed by another.
Crunch—! Crack—! Gnaw—!
The noises of relentless chewing and swallowing filled the air.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!"
Mang let out an agonized scream from within the energy.
"Gaaaaahhh!!"
The cries were deafening, so filled with pain that they made grimace—not out of sympathy or pity, but because of what I was feeling in response.
Ssssssss—
From the tips of my feet, the dark energy began to flow upward, carrying sothing into my body.
It was hard to describe—neither energy nor sothing wholly material.
Was it mories? Thoughts?
Or perhaps a fragnt of his soul?
Whatever it was, the sensation was unmistakable. It traveled through , reaching my heart, where it rged with my own spirit.
"Disgusting."
It felt as though I was taking sothing I shouldn’t, stealing sothing that wasn’t mine.
But guilt? No, it wasn’t guilt—just an inexplicable unease.
Still, this confird one thing.
"So this is Authority."
I could feel it clearly now—this was what it ant to seize Authority.
I was devouring Mang’s Authority.
Crunch. Crack—!
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!!"
It wasn’t sothing I could have done mid-battle. So why could I do it now?
"Because he admitted defeat."
The conditions for consuming Authority were twofold:
The opponent had to acknowledge their defeat.
They had to verbalize it.
Both conditions had been t.
"What an absurd condition."
It wasn’t enough to defeat soone in battle; they had to concede and say it aloud. The condition was as frustrating as it was peculiar.
"Is it because I want acknowledgnt for my victories?"
It sounded childish and immature, but given how closely the Authority mirrored my own emotions, it wasn’t impossible.
"N-no... no!! Don’t take it... Don’t take what’s mine!"
Mang, shrouded in the black energy of greed, scread in desperation. But the devouring didn’t stop.
For what felt like an eternity, the relentless chewing and swallowing continued.
Smack. Gulp. Growl—!
Finally, the devouring ceased. Greed seed satisfied, letting out a contented belch before retreating back into the shadows.
Ssshhhh—
With its departure, I let out a deep breath.
For so reason, I felt full—even though I hadn’t eaten anything myself.
Turning my gaze forward, I saw Mang’s face, pale and trembling, as he gasped for breath.
I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.
"So that’s how it works. Interesting."
"Y-you... took... what’s mine..."
Mang’s trembling hand reached out toward .
"Give it... give it back... Return my... power..."
His desperate voice carried no weight. I casually swatted his hand away.
Smack.
The hand fell limp, flopping to the ground.
"Give it back? It’s mine now."
"No... It’s... mine..."
"Yeah, it was yours."
But not anymore.
"Now, it belongs to ."
Mang’s face contorted with rage at my words. His anger was palpable, but it wasn’t intimidating in the least.
Now that I’d taken what I needed, there was nothing left to fear from him.
"I’ve gotten what I wanted. Now, disappear."
"Ugh... gaaahhh...!!"
Mang tried to resist, but his body, already shattered, couldn’t pose any threat.
And based on what I felt during the process of devouring his Authority, his ti was almost up.
The mont I took his Authority, I also claid the remainder of his vitality.
"How... regretful..."
The light in his eyes faded with each passing second. All that remained was the faint trace of hatred directed at .
"I... curse... you... I’ll curse you..."
Thud.
His words cut off as his body stiffened like a stone, completely lifeless.
A Pureblood Dragon had died in disgrace.
There was no particular satisfaction in witnessing his death.
"..."
I placed my hand on his chest.
"He’s not completely dead."
Though faint, I could feel a heartbeat and shallow breaths.
I had avoided striking his vital points. Mang’s presence was gone, but the body left behind was Woo Hyuk’s.
However, this was far from a safe situation.
"At this rate, he’ll die."
Perhaps it was because Mang’s energy had been absorbed, but Woo Hyuk’s body had undergone changes, similar to mine.
Yet the extensive injuries posed a serious problem.
"Tsk."
Clicking my tongue, I thought back to my original plan. I had intended to take Mang’s Authority and use it to heal Woo Hyuk.
But there was an unexpected issue.
I now possessed two Authorities, and I knew imdiately what they were upon claiming them.
"…But this won’t save him."
The regenerative Authority wasn’t what I’d expected.
It wasn’t like Yuseon’s ability to heal others.
My newfound regeneration allowed to rapidly heal my own injuries, even regrowing severed limbs if needed.
But...
"It doesn’t work on others."
Mang’s second Authority, the power of regeneration, had its limits.
"Was it always like this?"
Thinking back to Yuseon’s ability, it didn’t seem like it should’ve been restricted in this way.
Could it be...
"The Authority weakened during the transfer?"
That possibility crossed my mind. Perhaps the process of stealing and assimilating it diminished its effectiveness.
It was plausible, but...
"In this situation, it’s irrelevant."
There was no point in pondering it now.
"What do I do?"
If I left Woo Hyuk like this, he would die. Even if I sohow got him to a safe place, he wouldn’t survive the journey.
And even if he did, could anyone save him in this state?
Not even the Divine Doctor could help at this point.
"..."
What could I do? What was the answer?
I clenched my teeth in frustration.
"Damn it, I could’ve saved him before. But now..."
The regenerative Authority was what I had sought, but now it was practically useless.
"Wait."
A thought suddenly struck .
"It enhances the wielder’s regeneration, doesn’t it?"
Recalling the conditions, I thought of a possibility.
A distant mory surfaced—of the Heavenly Demon and the creation of Demonic Beings.
The process of turning them into Demonic Beings granted them strengthened bodies and unique powers—what they called “baptism.”
It felt similar to what I was experiencing now.
"...Could it work?"
Summoning my resolve, I let demonic energy rise within , flowing through my body.
Placing my hand on Woo Hyuk’s chest, I prepared to act.
Before releasing the energy, I hesitated, staring at his unconscious face.
"If this works... will you hate for it?"
The thought gave pause, but weighing that against his impending death, the answer was simple.
"I’ll save you."
That was the only choice I had.
Fwoosh!
Demonic energy surged into Woo Hyuk’s body.
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