The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 265

Lee Shin made his entrance with a flashy display, parrying the Sword of the Earth's attack head-on.

His descent to the ground, wreathed in flame and lightning, was like a setting sun, enough to stir the emotions of even the three whose sensibilities had all but evaporated.

Puh-eok-!

"Ouch!"

However, a full-power tail whip from Irhegue suddenly struck the back of his head, and the time Lee Shin could pose in front of the three was but a brief moment.

Irhegue, not in his usual small form but having consumed more internal energy to enlarge his tail, had struck Lee Shin, a clear indication of just how much frustration he had accumulated.

"Why'd you suddenly hit me?"

-Are you asking because you really don't know?!

Irhegue, having returned his tail to its original size, rushed at Lee Shin and shouted.

-Is it not because you dallied on your way here that my subordinates have been turned into such rags! And you dare to be so shameless...!

'No, rags... The master's words feel more painful.'

'My sister and I are definitely a mess, but...'

Mio and Rwen, who could hear Irhegue's words, thought so inwardly and grumbled quietly.

But since they had nothing to retort, they brushed it off and glared at Lee Shin.

Their eyes were questioning whether Irhegue's words about him dallying on his way here were true.

Anyone else would have offered an awkward apology at their gazes.

"But I arrived just in time for the decisive moment, so isn't it fine?"

However, Lee Shin met the gazes of the three head-on and responded shamelessly.

"Let's think positively. Thanks to my last-minute arrival, a super dramatic moment was created, wasn't it?"

Hearing the real reason he was able to intervene with such magical timing from Lee Shin's own mouth, Mio and Rwen wanted to rush at him right away and lend their strength to Irhegue.

"Eeeek...!"

"Uuugh...!"

But their bodies betrayed their will.

The moment they saw Lee Shin and Irhegue, the two had completely let their guard down, realizing they had passed the crisis of death and that someone they could rely on had arrived.

Because of that, the side effects of the Dragon Madness Transformation were now assailing the two who had let their guard down.

Mio and Rwen could only let out groans at a type of pain they had never felt before, as every joint in their bodies tightened and their muscles twisted in real time.

"Hoo..."

Even while getting his head whipped by Irhegue, Lee Shin saw the state of the two and approached them with a grinning face.

"And kids are supposed to be pushed to their limits like this sometimes, you know?"

Tak-

Saying so, Lee Shin slightly bent his waist and patted Mio and Rwen's shoulders with both arms.

If this were a normal situation, Mio and Rwen's hearts might have swelled a little at Lee Shin's rare praise.

"...!"

"...!"

But now, their chests swelled as their lungs filled with a sudden intake of breath.

From the rebound of Lee Shin's pat on their shoulders, Mio and Rwen could only gasp, unable to even scream at the pain spreading throughout their bodies.

Lee Shin pointed at the two and said.

"See? I left them alone, and they've grown up so splendidly, haven't they? If this were the old them, they'd be bawling their eyes out from just a light touch from me."

-Be quiet! It is true they have grown much, but do not torment my subordinates as if they were your toys! And stop making moves on my subordinate like that!

"Hey, when did I ever make a move?"

Lee Shin grumbled but obediently followed Irhegue's words, distancing himself from the two and approaching the one person who was a little apart from them.

"Hoo... Are you done with your monologue?"

The next place Lee Shin's feet headed was where Bodra, who had been excluded from the conversation because she couldn't hear Irhegue's voice, was collapsed on the ground.

Bodra said so and quietly looked at Lee Shin.

'Something is strange...'

When she had seen Lee Shin before, she had felt a sense of displeasure and unease, as if something was hidden inside him.

Thinking back now, it was highly likely that it was a wariness brought on by her instincts, due to the reason that she could be mauled by Lee Shin at any time, but in any case, for that reason, Bodra couldn't bring herself to like Lee Shin even if she tried.

But now, she didn't feel that kind of displeasure from Lee Shin at all.

'No, beyond that, I don't feel anything at all. What is this...'

"Haa..."

Bodra put the brakes on her own mind, which was about to get lost in thought, by taking a deep breath.

It was good to continue thinking.

But in a tense situation like this, there was no need to waste unnecessary energy on someone who was, for now, classified as an ally.

Muttering so to herself, Bodra looked at Lee Shin and spoke first, as if to get ahead of him.

"I'm telling you in advance, right now I can't even guarantee I can take care of myself. Don't even think about telling me to take care of those two."

Though not as much as Mio and Rwen, Bodra hadn't done nothing in the fight against Noah either.

At the end, to save Mio and Rwen and to definitively kill Noah, who had drawn out power beyond his limits, Bodra had amplified her aura with emotion and exerted power beyond her capabilities.

Because of that, she was now in a state of powerlessness after the fight, so exhausted that she couldn't even lift a finger.

"I have eyes too, so I wouldn't ask for something like that."

Lee Shin said so and laughed lightly.

"But you can at least stay conscious and keep an eye on the kids, right?"

"W-well, of course I can do that much, but..."

"Hmm, that's good enough."

Lee Shin said so without even listening to all of Bodra's words and moved his hand.

Lee Shin's hand naturally grabbed Bodra's, making her grab the scruffs of Mio and Rwen's necks with both hands.

"Huh?"

It was such a natural movement that even Bodra herself didn't know how her hands had moved.

While Bodra was still disoriented.

Hwiik-

Lee Shin grabbed the scruff of Bodra's neck and threw her toward the distant forest, as if he were bowling.

"You crazy...!"

Bodra, startled by Lee Shin's sudden action, cursed but reflexively tightened her grip on Mio and Rwen.

Dulduldul-

For reference, at that time, Mio and Rwen were looking at each other with eyes that feared the coming pain.

Kwadadang-!

The three of them rolled on the ground from the impact and barely stopped their bodies by crashing into a tree.

Whether by a stroke of heavenly luck or misfortune, Mio and Rwen barely managed not to pass out from the pain.

Just then, Bodra frowned at the pain in her head and opened her mouth to curse at Lee Shin.

Psusususu-

But when she saw the trees in the forest moving and wrapping around their bodies like a cocoon, the words she was about to say quietly slipped away.

"Protection using a druid?"

The Sword of the Earth muttered as he watched the trees envelop the three.

"Well, something like that."

Lee Shin said so and looked at the Sword of the Earth with a smiling face.

"But this is unexpected. I thought you'd try to capture them, but you just let them go."

"There is no reason for me to use a tactic that would tarnish my honor against an enemy weaker than myself."

"Hmm~"

At the Sword of the Earth's words, Lee Shin made a humming sound as if savoring something.

The Sword of the Earth ignored him and said.

"You want to buy time for them to escape, don't you?"

"Well... if you put it that way, I guess so?"

-Think about my subordinates!

At Lee Shin's words, Irhegue, who was next to him, glared fiercely, but Lee Shin didn't bother to correct his answer.

"In that case, I will make you a proposal."

"A proposal?"

"Yes."

The Sword of the Earth gave a heavy nod.

"As long as you engage in conversation with me and answer my questions, I will not fight."

"What, you had something you were curious about me too?"

Lee Shin said, tilting his head.

"That's unexpected. I thought you guys would start swinging your swords the moment you saw me."

"We have our own circumstances."

The Sword of the Earth said so and looked at Lee Shin with eyes that asked what he would do.

Lee Shin thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright, I'm also curious about what you're curious about me, so I guess I'll hear you out."

"The deal is struck. Then I will ask..."

The Sword of the Earth said, as if puzzled.

"Are you the Noble Killer?"

"That's right, I'm the one who killed the nobles."

"Strange. According to our investigation, the three who killed the nobles were all said to be of the dragon race. Furthermore, the man was said to have peculiar eyes of different colors."

At Lee Shin's words, the Sword of the Earth pointed at Lee Shin's eyes and said.

"Then why are your eyes like that? Are you not of the dragon race?"

"What, you were going to ask about that? It's simple..."

Lee Shin playfully covered and uncovered his eyes with one hand.

Hwoooong-

In that instant, Lee Shin activated [Dragon Madness], merging his and Irhegue's minds into one and transforming his body.

"It's just a little trick."

With Lee Shin's words, his red and gold eyes, containing the eyes of a dragon, shone playfully.

Seeing this, the Sword of the Earth nodded.

"I see, so you deceived them with that? My question is answered."

"By the way, your question is pretty boring. Was it worth coming here?"

"No, the real part hasn't even started yet."

"Oh, so the question just now was a build-up? I'm looking forward to what the real question is."

Lee Shin said so and gestured for the Sword of the Earth to continue.

At that, the Sword of the Earth said without any sign of agitation.

"Are you the hero chosen by Gaia?"

◎ ◎ ◎

The news that someone presumed to be Gaia's hero had been sent from Earth was famous among the upper echelons of the church.

At that time, an incident occurred in the territory managed by them, the members of the Earth faction.

The intelligence department's investigation concluded that the incident was a crime committed by a new powerhouse who had not appeared until now.

For the Sword of the Earth, who knew all the circumstances, it was a situation that could not help but be meaningful in many ways.

In response, the Sword of the Earth quietly pressured the intelligence department, controlled the information, and then obtained the data.

But there was an unexpected error.

As far as he knew, there should have only been humans on Earth, but the intelligence department's investigation revealed that the culprits were three members of the dragon race.

Thanks to that, he was able to divert the eyes of an annoying fellow, but the Sword of the Earth still felt that the situation was not clear.

"Our church manages the world according to God's will. We even feel pride in that fact. To us, your appearance was too sudden. It felt as if you had come from another world."

Ssk-

"Still, various pieces of evidence said that you and Gaia's hero were not the same person."

The Sword of the Earth looked at Lee Shin, recalling the testimony about the dragon race and the common-sense reasoning that Gaia's hero, who should be hiding his body, would not suddenly go on a rampage and kill nobles.

"..."

At the Sword of the Earth's words, Lee Shin was lost in thought, unable to say anything.

Looking at him, the Sword of the Earth said.

"Are you thinking of an excuse?"

"No, that's not it."

Lee Shin said, tilting his head slightly.

"I was just thinking about how to answer to make it more interesting."

"...Did you just say interesting?"

"That's right."

At the Sword of the Earth's low voice, Lee Shin readily nodded.

"And I've come to a pretty good conclusion just now."

Lee Shin said, tilting his head from side to side.

"As it happens, on my way here, I got a huge earful from someone I know. He told me to clean up the mess because some guy was tormenting his subordinates."

"I did not do it."

"The superior must take responsibility for the subordinate's mistakes."

Lee Shin looked at the Sword of the Earth and said with a smiling face.

"It's simple, I'll tell you if you beat me, right?"

"...Indeed."

Sreureung-

"That would be simpler for me."

The Sword of the Earth said so and looked straight at Lee Shin.

(End of Chapter)