Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 258

Dungeon Journal-258 (258/319)

# 258

Dungeon Journal

91. Incarnation of the Evil Dragon

Both sides concealed different agendas and approached the war, but the White Bear’s actions were undeniably more detestable.

For instance, they’d suddenly reinforce their forces to secure a cheap victory, or try to eliminate him with a massive explosion.

It was impossible to like an opponent who had tried to stab him in the back twice.

Ursus wore a resigned expression at the blatant animosity.

“You are a ruthless conqueror who does not understand coexistence, a tyrant who knows no defeat, and too dangerous to plan for the future.”

Looking back, the White Bear Duke’s words weren’t entirely unreasonable.

However, even if such circumstances existed, there was no chance of a peaceful resolution through mutual understanding.

“Well, there’s no point dwelling on the past.”

He acknowledged the White Bear’s words with a degree of brazenness.

“What matters now is what lies ahead.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kim Jin-woo’s presence exploded with power.

“Hah!”

The White Bear Duke gasped, tensing his entire body. White light flickered near his snout, ready to burst out, and his coarse fur stood on end like blades.

Having acted as he did, he seemed to expect an immediate attack.

However, contrary to expectations, Kim Jin-woo headed in an unexpected direction: toward the Tarus, who were closely watching the situation, unable to understand the language.

***

The Duke was nervous as he watched the Commander of the Triumph suddenly reveal himself.

Although they had formed an alliance, trust was a rare commodity on a battlefield where the odds were already stacked against them.

However, the animosity the Commander of the Triumph displayed towards the White Bears seemed unusual.

Though he couldn’t understand their conversation, he could tell that the Commander of the Triumph was openly hostile.

The Duke smiled with satisfaction at the tense atmosphere.

The king of the Ursus didn’t seem to have the *yoyu* [余裕 – Japanese for leeway or composure] to pay attention to him right now.

He was uncomfortable with the insidious ally who was hiding more power than he’d expected, but he was satisfied to have bought time to recover his strength.

However, his satisfaction was short-lived. The Commander of the Triumph, who he thought would naturally deal with the White Bears first, was rushing towards him.

“Huh?”

Caught off guard, the Duke’s high position wasn’t obtained for nothing. He instantly tightened his loosened muscles, preparing to face the enemy.

Bang!

An explosion erupted between his horns, and blue lightning burst forth, quickly forming a lightning armor that enveloped his entire body.

***

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the sight of the muscular giant covered in glittering lightning armor.

He had tried to launch a surprise attack, but it failed. The Duke had quickly assumed a battle-ready stance, and the lightning armor seemed impenetrable.

However, he didn’t slow down or change direction.

Clearly, the giant bull before him was a powerful opponent. The power he had accumulated over a long time as the ruler of the deep layers was undeniable, radiating an overwhelming aura that ordinary counts couldn’t hope to match.

Nevertheless, the Duke was the weakest of those gathered here.

He had already exhausted a great deal of his strength in Ursus’s trap, and the unfavorable war situation made it difficult to exert his full power.

Kim Jin-woo naturally intended to deal with the weakened opponent first, which was unfortunate for the Duke.

“Hup!”

Kim Jin-woo aimed his mana spear as he ran, pulled it taut, and then fired.

Kkyaaaaaaaa.

The ancient weapon, which never missed its target, roared as it tore through the air.

Bang!

The Duke took a step back from the full-force spear throw.

Kkyaaaaaaaa!

The mana spear, which had bounced off the lightning armor, was sucked back into his hand as if drawn to it. He hurled the spear again.

Bang!

This time, the Duke took two steps back.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The speed of the spear throws increased. The Duke was now retreating rapidly.

“Get out of the way, you small fries!”

The Tarus honor guard, trembling before the overwhelming presence, stepped forward to protect their master, only to be swept away by the force of the mana spear and torn to shreds.

In an instant, a rain of blood soared, and a red mist enveloped the area.

“Ggrrr!”

However, that brief gap seemed to be enough for the Duke. The Duke, who had been constantly pushed back, stepped forward again and lowered his head. The energy of electricity gathered between his massive horns exploded.

Kim Jin-woo reached out his other hand, the one not holding the mana spear, and absorbed all the lightning strikes flying towards him.

It was an intense energy that made the end of his forearm tingle, but not a single strand of the hundreds of lightning bolts pierced his defenses.

Bang!

The mana spear flew again. This time, the Duke did not retreat. Knowing full well that retreat was no solution, he chose to rush forward instead.

Kim Jin-woo hurled the spear once more at the Duke, who had become one with the lightning, and glanced back at the White Bear.

Startled by the sudden situation, the giant White Bear quickly and cunningly assessed the situation, contemplating how to take advantage of it.

There wasn’t much time. He had to subdue that angry bull before the White Bear jumped in to reap the benefits.

Kim Jin-woo drew upon even more power.

[Unique ability, Frost Battlefield, has been activated.]

[Intense cold is generated in the surrounding 300-meter area. The enemy’s movements are slowed, and their tough hides become easier to break.]

[Frost Armor has been activated. You, clad in armor of cold, are now unaffected by most attacks.]

[Frost Blades have been activated. Hundreds of blades made of cold are fired towards the enemy’s heart.]

The cold spread rapidly, proving more effective than expected. The effect seemed amplified by the cold attributes of Ursus’s labyrinth.

Thankful for the stroke of luck, he drew out another authority, a completely new power he had never used before.

[The most noble and powerful Naga, Nagaraja (Dragon King – 龍王), has manifested.]

[The power of the dragon, which had completely disappeared since ancient times, has once again appeared in the underground.]

Hard scales and sharp protrusions sprouted on his delicate skin at every joint.

His shoulders, once slender compared to the monsters of the underground, broadened, and his arms and legs lengthened.

His eye level, which had barely reached the thighs of the Tarus, suddenly grew so tall that he could look down on them.

Kim Jin-woo, who had drawn out the power of Nagaraja, resembled a Draconian.

If it weren’t for the lack of a long snout, one could argue that he was a distant relative of the Draconian based on appearance alone.

Crack.

Even with his changed appearance, the transformation wasn’t over.

[The energies you have absorbed so far have mingled together and become completely messed up. The Dragon King, who possesses the power of Dharma [cosmic law and order], is beginning to be corrupted by impure energy.]

[This is something that even the mysteries of the underground did not foresee.]

What was this supposed to mean? Kim Jin-woo frowned as he felt the power of the Dragon King, which he had drawn out as his trump card, rampaging uncontrollably.

Black stains appeared between the blue scales, spreading all over his body in the blink of an eye.

[The resentment of all the inauspicious things possessed by the demons of sin.]

[The desire to devour everything possessed by the Lord of Greed.]

[The frivolous mischief possessed by the Fairy Lord.]

[The obsession with truth possessed by the One-Eyed Lord.]

[All the powers you have absorbed so far begin to resonate as one. No one can predict what the end of this change will be.]

[There is no choice. The moment the power of the Dragon King manifested, all energies began to coalesce into one. Just pray that the end of this change is beneficial to you.]

The giant bull, who had been blindly rushing in despite his sudden transformation, accelerated even more when he saw the half-dragon, half-human frozen and unable to move.

“You bastard! I will defeat you first and then deal with that cunning White Bear!”

An incomprehensible shout, but the meager sense of victory contained within it was understandable. Almost simultaneously, white light burst out from behind him, and a tremendous force began to press down.

“I, too, will postpone my match with you!”

The King of Ursus, who had been watching the situation, seemed to have realized who was the more threatening opponent after calculating.

Kim Jin-woo was furious at the attacks coming from the front and back. The resonating energies were swept away by the storm of intense emotions, pushed here and there, and finally settled.

[The energies that seemed to coalesce into one ultimately could not become one. However, the lingering power of the authority within could not prevent the guardian of the clan, the Dragon King’s purity, from being completely shattered.]

[The most noble Naga, the Dharma of the Naga clan, the Dragon King’s Dragon Form (龍態) has become an Evil Dragon (惡龍).]

***

Although communication with the master had returned, the feeling was still unsettling. That’s why the summons, including Morrigan, couldn’t relax.

Crack.

A noise that grated on the nerves of the summons, who were so on edge, was heard.

Crackle.

She turned her head and widened her eyes. The Naga’s eggs, which had been scarred and unsightly, began to crack all at once.

“Ah.”

A blue forearm popped out, wriggling through the cracked gap.

“The Nagas!”

***

The king of the Tarus was the first to be sacrificed to the advent of the terrible Evil Dragon.

He had been confident of victory when he rushed in with lightning, but he only grasped the true situation when he reached the Evil Dragon’s nose.

It was already too late to retreat. He had to give it his all.

The sense of crisis, the feeling that he would be eaten alive if he stopped even for a moment, drove him forward.

Fortunately, the King of the White Bears, sensing the ominous nature of this new monster, was rushing in fiercely.

But it seemed too early to rest assured.

“Cough!”

A terrible pain he had never felt before. The Duke couldn’t understand how the situation had turned so dire.

He had clearly crushed the Commander of the Triumph with the energy of lightning, so why was he in such agony? He gasped roughly, feeling as if his chest was collapsing.

“Hmm?”

Something was wrong. He was clearly protecting his entire body with lightning armor.

But the body he could see now was completely exposed, revealing its yellow skin, defenseless.

And on top of that, a grotesque, leech-like creature was tearing into his massive pectoral muscles and burrowing in.

“Kkeuaaaak!”

As his energy ebbed away, the Duke screamed as he watched the Evil Dragon’s head burrow even deeper.