"Keugh... kkeup..."
The Thunder Bird’s sharp feathers had completely vanished, and before stood a pitiful, staggering bird.
"How... how could the Tail-Bearing Death... wield the power of the Enlightened One...?"
The overwhelming majesty the Thunder Bird once held had long since disappeared.
"Keueugh... keaaaak..."
The Thunder Bird let out a pained groan.
Its body, now resembling a plucked chicken, was turning a deep purple.
The energy of Black Death had seeped into its body, and since it had been struck by the Palm of the Enlightened One, it couldn’t resist it.
"Sp... spare ..."
Even at the end, it pathetically begged for its life.
I walked toward it silently.
The once arrogant Thunder Bird’s expression was now consud by terror.
"Wa-wait! A-aren’t you curious about Gomodo? A-and Jinlong too...!"
I picked up the fallen sword once more.
"Ah."
A look of despair crossed its face, realizing there was no escaping death.
Fwuoooosh!
That was the final expression it ever made.
The Thunder Bird was dead.
Even if the battle had been intense, as long as I erged victorious, that was all that mattered.
Defeating enemies let level up, and leveling up allowed to shed my skin, restoring my body.
But that wasn’t possible now.
I had reached the maximum level.
...So this was the side effect of not evolving.
I would have to check my options once this was over.
My body was in bad shape.
I had used too much power, so it was only natural.
But the battle wasn’t over yet.
Flas and frost continued to clash.
The Red Dragon was still fighting.
Dragging my exhausted body, I made my way toward her.
Just a little more, and I could finally rest.
So, with the last of my strength... toward the Red Dragon...
Taah.
My legs gave out.
I almost collapsed just from tripping over a rock.
But thankfully, I didn’t fall.
Sothing soft caught .
"Ba-baby? What happened to your appearance...? No, wait—are you okay?"
This warmth, and the gentle purring sound.
It was the Red Dragon.
Her presence here ant only one thing.
She had defeated the Ice Dragon.
【Fla Dragon LV160】
...Yeah, you’ve finally stepped onto the path of the higher dragon race.
I slightly opened my mouth.
"I’m listening, so just say anything!"
Lizamoun, her eyes welling with tears, must have thought I was dying.
"Keuh... take care of..."
To reassure her, I forced out the words I absolutely had to say.
"Take care of? Got it! I’ll make sure our divine beast’s body—"
"The Neidan... take it...!"
"Huh?"
Forget everything else—taking their Neidan was the priority.
And though I had used up a lot of my strength, I had still ascended in level. I wasn’t going to die.
Seeing the Red Dragon’s dumbfounded face, I closed my eyes.
You went through a lot too, but I think I suffered more.
I’ll leave the cleanup to you.
*
An endless lake, vast like the great ocean, spread before .
This was my inner world.
Yeah, I knew I’d end up here.
— You have arrived.
A massive dinosaur with crimson scales.
A ntal demon in the form of a Spinosaurus.
No, I had locked eyes with the previous Gomodo.
— To think you defeated the Thunder Bird without my help.
Right before the battle, Gomodo had reached out to .
It had promised a sweet reward—defeating the Thunder Bird—if I handed over my body.
Maybe giving in to it would have been the correct choice under those circumstances.
But I couldn’t do it.
I didn’t want to.
What the Thunder Bird had said was likely true.
That I was brought into this world as part of Gomodo’s plan.
That if not for it, I wouldn’t have ended up here.
— ...So, do you resent ?
No.
I don’t resent it.
I don’t hate this life.
I’ve made bonds here that I cherish.
But there was one thing I couldn’t understand.
The Thunder Bird had called a vessel.
A vessel necessary for Gomodo’s plan.
A vessel it had personally created.
But how could I believe that?
In my past life, I was just an ordinary human, nothing remarkable.
Why the hell would I be its vessel?
— That damn Thunder Bird ran its mouth too much.
The previous Gomodo bared its fangs.
Guuuuuung.
The vast lake trembled with massive ripples.
Just as I had grown stronger, the ntal demon had grown even larger.
— I created a vessel? ...A being without form like myself cannot create a human. It would be more accurate to say that I chose you.
...Yeah.
I hadn’t just fallen from the sky out of nowhere, so it wasn’t like Gomodo had created .
But I still didn’t understand why it had chosen .
Wouldn’t it have made more sense to pick soone with scientific knowledge? Soone who had /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ mastered modern martial arts?
I was just a regular human with a mild interest in reptiles.
Why the hell did it choose ?
— Because I had no other choice.
...No other choice?
— I couldn’t pick anyone but you.
...
What the hell does that an?
That contradicts the very idea of a choice.
I was born into this world regardless of Gomodo’s will.
And yet, it had no choice but to choose ?
How could I be its vessel under those circumstances?
— Stop overthinking it with that tiny head of yours. You’re not capable of understanding it yet.
...
Fine.
Gomodo must have thought I had already figured out enough of the truth because it was being unusually cooperative.
If I listened to everything it had to say, I could make my own judgnt.
— I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything more.
Is it mocking right now?
— Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. You must realize it for yourself.
Again with this.
But I wasn’t going to let it get to .
It didn’t matter what I was or how I ca to be.
It didn’t matter what kind of relationship I had with the previous Gomodo.
I would focus on protecting those I held dear.
Finding out my origins could wait until after I defeated Jinlong and Al-Yu, when I could finally live in peace.
If I killed Jinlong, the previous Gomodo would be satisfied.
We were stuck together in this uneasy cohabitation, but I couldn’t simply ignore it.
— Hm... Well, do as you wish. If you truly defeat Jinlong, I will have no reason to take your body.
That didn’t an I’d trust it completely.
It had already taken control of my body once. What was stopping it from doing it again?
And it might even try to kill Jinlong itself.
— Kahaha! Well, I’ll be looking forward to it.
The previous Gomodo let out a thunderous laugh.
The lake’s waters churned violently.
It looked like it was about to cast out, as if it had said all it wanted to.
...Was this really all it called here for?
Sothing felt off.
Had I missed sothing?
Its unusually good mood was suspicious.
— Still, since you did defeat the Thunder Bird, I’ll give you a piece of information.
I knew instinctively.
This was what it had truly wanted to tell .
I focused.
— I never had any offspring.
...What?
It never had offspring?
What the hell does that an?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I had always believed that the Ice Dragon and Thunder Bird had exterminated Gomodo’s descendants.
That I was the last child of a bloodline with only a faint trace of its power, which was why it had taken over my body.
But now it was saying it never had any offspring?
— I won’t give you any more information. Figure it out on your own.
The previous Gomodo smirked as its form began to fade.
Leaving behind yet another cryptic ssage before disappearing.
Was it so kind of sadist, enjoying my confusion?
...Whatever.
I’d think about it later.
For now, it was ti to wake up.
*
I woke up from my inner world.
“...I said we need to check now!”
“A-Although it’s you...”
“Ugh, do you want to taste so plum blossoms?”
There was a commotion.
The Red Dragon—no.
Now, I should call her the Fla Dragon.
“Look! He’s trembling all over!”
“Then we should send him to a physician—”
“Ah, shut up and open the door already! Or do you want to set sothing on fire because of his body temperature?”
Hmm. Who was she talking to?
I thought she had cald down a bit after staying in Gae Gak Sect, but she was still as fierce as ever.
Still, since it was for my sake, I wouldn’t complain.
My head was spinning.
Was it because I had lost too much blood? My body felt colder than usual.
As they kept arguing, I heard the door creak open.
Click.
“What’s all this commotion?”
It was a familiar voice.
The Fla Dragon was speaking to soone.
I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Because my attention was completely fixated on the owner of that voice.
A familiar presence, just as familiar as the voice.
A space that looked so warm.
A space that seed to be waiting just for .
Without hesitation, I leaped forward and buried my head in it.
For a mont, the body flinched.
“Hehe... Master...”
I let out a purring sound, reveling in the warmth of my master’s embrace.
...Wait?
Sothing felt off.
That wasn’t the sound of purring.
And my vision was a little strange too.
Confused, I turned my head—only to et the wide-eyed, utterly shocked gazes of the elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“C-C-Cult Leader?”
“How dare an outsider embrace our Cult Leader?!”
...
Huh?
Did I just hear sothing strange?
Two things, actually.
My mind was still hazy. Maybe this was all just a dream.
Just because I had left my inner world didn’t an I had fully regained my senses.
I rubbed my face against my master’s embrace.
A human wouldn’t be able to do sothing like this, but as a lizard, I could do it anyti.
“Keuhk...!”
“How... how blasphemous...!”
The elders coughed up blood.
Angry?
Too bad.
But no one could punish —I was just a lizard.
“I heard my disciple was in poor condition... and yes, that certainly seems to be the case.”
Master reached out and patted my head.
Hmm. This really must be a dream.
Normally, they would have grabbed by the scruff and lifted up, not pulled closer.
I instinctively let out a satisfied purring sound.
“Manma... Manmamanmangbok... pouch... hehe...”
...Wait.
Why was I speaking human language?
“You foolish disciple. How am I supposed to explain this to everyone when you act like this in front of so many?”
Master lightly tapped my head.
“You’re even taller than —why are you clinging to like a child?”
...
Taller?
People don’t usually talk about a lizard’s height, do they?
A creeping sense of unease washed over .
I pulled my head away from the comforting embrace.
Then I looked down at my body.
And in that mont, I realized.
This wasn’t a dream.
In front of the elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult...
I was clinging to the Cult Leader’s chest.
And not as a tiny lizard.
But in my human form.
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