What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 534

Cadenza! (3)

The intense energy from just now was impossible for anyone with Aether [magical energy] to miss.

-Swish, swish, swish…!

I shuddered at the sound of the waves below and lowered my gaze.

Beneath my dark and dizzying feet, tens of thousands of ruby-red shells were rapidly moving, densely packed together.

The shattered Guild Hall building was entirely covered in reddish shells.

My eyes widened, wondering what was happening.

Herit exclaimed repeatedly, and Tess sighed, struggling to believe the scene before her while sober.

The shell swarm glittered in the white moonlight, moving somewhere, and it was only after a foolish few dozen seconds of being mesmerized that I realized…

“Oh my gosh, it’s the Gugus!”

“Yes!”

“Goodness! It is!”

I realized they were lizards that hadn’t yet transformed into dragons. Wow!

-Krrr…

[Gugu, you guys are really awesome!]

-Charr, charrr!

-Tap, tap, tap!

Overjoyed, I forgot about the current situation and cheered through the Oracle [a method of communication].

Excited as well, Dduk-sim [MC’s companion] flapped its wings, lifting us up.

Everyone’s hair fluttered like fireworks.

Each time the dignified sacred creature scattered its fur and released a heatwave, the fire lizards moved in perfect unison, covering the Black Dragon’s belly, legs, and tail.

When rippling like high waves, they resembled shells, but after being perfectly absorbed into the body, they looked like beautiful carp scales.

I felt like I would have no regrets if I could stroke the glossy surface just once.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight of the one-and-only masterpiece being created.

“Wow…!”

[Wow…]

So, it’s not a Fire Dragon, but a Black Dragon.

A serpent that ‘transforms’ into a dragon.

[It’s so amazing and incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!]

“Hahaha, yeah!”

As I continued to marvel, Herit’s clear laughter refreshed my ears.

The sight of the dragon, so grand it couldn’t be captured in a single glance, kept making me chuckle.

Now that I looked closely, there was a bead hanging below the Black Dragon’s chin, as if it had gathered all the red light in the world.

No, should I say it was just floating in the air? I don’t quite understand the principle.

[Gyu, is that your heart?]

-Krrr…

When I carefully asked, the giant dragon blinked its gentle eyes once.

I couldn’t help but smile at the affirmative response.

I don’t know why I feel so liberated too, but I was genuinely happy.

[Congratulations! So now―]

“Aaaagh!”

At that moment, a sharp, young scream tore through our eardrums.

A startled Herit recoiled!

“Black Dragon, there’s someone on the Black Dragon’s head!”

Tess shouted urgently, aiming her bow. I was horrified and quickly increased the thickness of the Holy Ground [a protective barrier].

Then, the Black Dragon, who had been silent all along, slowly lowered its head.

As if trying to reassure us.

-….

[Huh? Over there…]

-Whoosh!

And, as always, a pleasant breeze blew.

We, who had been tense about the unpredictable flow, melted like marshmallows in front of a fireplace.

[Your Highness! Sir Johan!]

“Princess.”

I saw my friends standing proudly on the dragon’s head, each holding one of its horns!

“What did you just s―”

“Ah!”

Whether Tess was in shock or not, Herit smiled radiantly like a moonlit beauty and flew towards her father.

The young man who had brought us down hugged her tightly, and a beautiful rainbow appeared on Sir Johan’s face.

Tess quickly leaned against a horn to keep her balance, and I stumbled before being grabbed by the Crown Prince!

“Ugh!”

Nice to see you too, you jerk!

“Dignity.”

“The operation was a success. Thank you for your hard work!”

As I quickly grabbed a horn and greeted him, the guy in armor scoffed.

I hadn’t seen him in a while, but it was so welcoming. I quickly caught my breath and asked.

Let’s just say you’re taking care of the dignity and decorum for both of us. I’ll concede.

“Are either of you hurt? What about Tete and Ropi? Areum and the other kids? What happened to Baron Atsuma? Oh, what was that scream from earlier? It sounded like a woman.”

“This way.”

The response rate was only 20%, but I followed his gesture, feeling that 20% was better than nothing.

I could see the hem of a skirt fluttering beyond the magnificent dragon’s horn.

The peeking eyes were sparkling with fear and curiosity.

It was definitely a face I had seen somewhere before.

Tess, who seemed to have half given up on getting an explanation, tilted her head.

“A maid…?”

“Eda Atsuma’s daughter.”

“Oh, Princess Francisca?”

I was surprised, and the girl jumped in fright.

Only then did I notice the dark red spot on one of her cheeks.

Indeed, it was the child I had passed in the hallway. I think she was said to be fifteen this year.

As soon as our eyes met, a trembling plea poured out from her young lips.

Her tears were filled with terror.

“I, I didn’t know anything. I swear. Please forgive me! I just, I just wanted to know what my mother was secretly doing… If you give me a chance, just one chance, I’ll repay you for the rest of my life. I promise!”

“Calm down, Princess. We didn’t come here to punish anyone―”

At that moment.

-Kkirururu…!

From not too far away, a very familiar roar was heard. Following that, a subtle tremor shook the ground.

Everyone’s movements stopped abruptly, and only their eyes darted around.

The Black Dragon’s eyeballs rolled with the sound of jade beads.

Gurgle, gurgle. Such a thing shouldn’t exist, but the sound of an animal’s blood vessels bulging followed.

I forgot to even breathe and looked back towards the darkness.

It was towards the spruce forest where lightning had struck and explosions had occurred earlier.

The place where Gain and Jibril Diop were left behind.

…It’s them.

“Serenite, behind us.”

“Yes.”

“Herit, let’s go back inside now. Daddy’s asking you.”

“Okay, okay.”

Whoosh! With a good answer, the young man’s body turned into a light purple sphere, and in the meantime, Tess and I took Francisca and quickly moved back.

It was difficult to grab the horns now, but each strand of the dragon’s fur was so thick and sturdy that it was perfect to use as a rope.

In addition, Sir Johan’s warm wind helped us maintain our composure.

Just as we were busily tying the Princess’s waist first, Dduk-sim sat on my shoulder.

-Bbibbippo!

“Oh, thank you so much. I don’t know how I would have lived without you, Dduk-sim.”

“A monster, is it a monster? Is a monster coming this way?”

The girl asked, trembling. I raised the corners of my lips and smiled leisurely.

“Yes, it’s a Myth-grade monster. But you don’t have to worry.”

Probably.

“…Are you mocking me? Even if I am young, I grew up learning basic etiquette!”

Ugh! Her face was angry, beyond being overly nervous.

The child trembled but helped tie the fur around my waist with clumsy hands.

I had nothing to say in response, so I just smiled.

Well, you’ll know when you actually see it. In just a few more seconds―

-Swaaeng!

-Kwaaaang!

“Aaaagh!”

It didn’t even take a second!

Following the ear-splitting sound of tearing air, there was an explosion like two B-52s colliding.

Beeeeee― My hearing temporarily disappeared, and a warning-like tinnitus rang in my ears.

We fluttered here and there like paper dolls, holding Dduk-sim and Francisca in our arms.

White, reddish, and bluish patterns flickered beneath our tightly closed eyelids.

While I was completely out of my mind, my head was spinning like a fan.

It’s okay, it’ll definitely be okay. The shockwave reaching us is weak. It’s going according to plan!

“Huff!”

Flash! I widened my eyes and turned my head quickly.

Just in time, the Black Dragon was twisting its body, so I could clearly see the situation below its nose.

“The Chief God….”

However, at the scene that my head couldn’t possibly accept, the strength in my jaw loosened.

I was confused as to whether I was inhaling or exhaling.

“The Chief God is crazy….”

-Kkyaaaaak―!

‘Kkikkikkik…!’ The Griffin, flying at full speed towards the Divine Dragon, was slammed into the ground just before reaching its target.

To be exact, a greatsword of silver aura seemed to have brutally pierced the left wing of the beast.

The scream of pain seemed as if it would shatter the sky at any moment, and the ground cried out along with the giant wings as they struggled.

The beast’s blood and bodily fluids soared and poured down like a shower. Kuwoong, kuwoong, kuwoong…!

“That, that person, who is that―”

The girl, stretching her neck out, asked urgently.

“He is a Swordmaster [a master of swordsmanship].”

“What?!”

“Yeah!?”

Francisca and Tess were simultaneously horrified at my explanation.

Tess, in particular, looked like someone who was catching up on a lifetime’s worth of surprise today (which was true).

But unfortunately, this also had to be postponed for a more detailed explanation later.

I calmed the jumping Dduk-sim and stared intently at the ground.

-Kkyaaaaak! Keok, keot!

“Poor thing. You’ve held onto your resentment for too long.”

-Kkirururuk…!

His Highness Stanislav, who had been suppressing all signs of his presence until now, not even letting us know his exact location—was standing there, having been hiding nearby and waiting for the right moment.

A rough and sharp gray aura was swirling around his entire body, burning like a beacon.

The elder’s broad back and legs were as unmoving as boulders piled up in one place.

The old Griffin’s eyes were bloodshot with anger, as if they would burst at any moment.

The beast’s gaze was fixed solely on the Black Dragon.

“Haa….”

A sigh escaped on its own.

There were a few times when the timing almost went wrong, but everything went according to our plan.

The Griffin, who accepted Diop’s deal, rushed in, aiming for the gap when Pisces reappeared in the world.

However, he was ambushed by the grandfather and suffered the consequences.

Although he wasn’t able to pierce the vital point in one go, the fact that he was able to pierce through a flying object at that speed was already unbelievable.

-Kaaaaaak! Kiyyaaaaak―!

The dying Griffin’s wajam [likely refers to a body part, perhaps ‘face’], with death flowers blooming, twitched like a last-gasping heart.

-Pulleodeok! Pulleodeok, pulleok!

“Let go of your regrets now. Then you will be at peace.”

The grandfather spoke as if comforting a child. I immediately looked up to check the sky.

‘Kkirururu…!’ The remaining Griffin clan and their gang of monsters were circling in the air, unable to come down.

They were clearly shocked by the brutal fate of their leader.

In that case, it was not difficult to predict the next situation.

Monsters are generally known to prioritize selfish and evil thoughts. Also, the higher the rank, the more intelligent and quick to calculate.

-Kyaaaaak!

Those guys will not come down to save this old Griffin.

-Kwaaaang!

The monster, struggling with all its might, kicked its opposite wing to fly up again.

The elder did not try to persuade him any further.

-Seokeong!

-Kiiiiii!

The left wing was cut off as it was, and his movements could not even be captured by the eye.

The enraged Griffin spat everywhere and opened its beak wide.

Pyeontjeok! A fleeting, eerie flash flickered like a broken fluorescent light.

Chijijijik! At the moment when fierce and sharp lightning gathered in the mouth of the electric-attribute monster―

-Hwiiiiik, tadat!

A familiar non-combat mage landed on the beast’s beak!

“Goodness, François!”

Goosebumps spread to the tips of my fingernails. This was not in our score.

‘No!’ I screamed at the top of my lungs in horror, and Sir Johan from above shot out, drawing a white line.

The old Griffin swung its remaining wing at the tiny human like an insect.

Each of the beast’s movements seemed to be split into frame units.

-Uuuuung!

However, the Marquis’s ‘specialty’ was several times faster.

-Spot!

No sooner had he disappeared without even activating a magic formula than,

-Chwaaaak!

-Guoooook! Ggeweeeek!

The Griffin’s beak was cut off and disappeared entirely, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.

My head was spinning at the magic that I couldn’t believe even after seeing it.

However, the grandfather acted like the Empire’s best monster hunter.

-Seuk, kwaaaang!

-Kwakwakwakwa―!

The aura as bright as the twilight of the gods aimed straight at the beast’s head.