The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 298

The situation had changed.

The Ten Kings, seeing the numerous rings of light that suddenly filled the sky, instinctively felt so.

Moving at full power using their own methods, they had arrived at the middle part of the 200s territory despite not much time having passed.

And at that moment, they appeared.

The ones who appeared from the gates of the sky were creatures that looked like artificial angels, if one had to put a fitting word to it, with wings attached to expressionless mannequins.

The creatures, whose entire bodies were painted in a bizarre white, poured out as soon as the gates opened.

-The situation has changed.

As the Ten Kings were looking at it with tense faces, Cheon Yuhwa's voice echoed in their ears.

Cheon Yuhwa had requested a conversation with them through the choker on her neck.

-Do you know what's going on?

-It seems the Gold Dragon has stepped up.

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, they quietly nodded their heads in understanding.

It was certainly reasonable to think that a dragon had stepped up to cause an incident of this crazy scale.

-Change of plans. As before, the basic plan is to advance toward the center of the church, but if you think it's impossible, teleport to where I am right away. You don't want to die a dog's death, do you?

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, they clicked their tongues quietly inwardly and nodded their heads.

No one was acting recklessly.

Because they could see that each and every one of those guys filling the sky was a monster of the same LV. 7 as them.

And because of that, their fighting spirit burned.

Because they had a hunch that the fight with them would become the material to create a path to the next realm.

Their stamina would decrease a little, but it didn't matter.

As long as they avoided fatal injuries, the rest could be solved by eating the elixir Crowley had made by refining dragon's blood.

-But is it okay not to change the plan? What if the Gold Dragon is at the church? And even if the Gold Dragon isn't there, there might be even more monster guys packed in there.

-It's fine.

At the quite common-sense rebuttal, Cheon Yuhwa declared confidently.

-Because we have no way out anyway.

And she smiled.

She didn't know how the situation had gotten so twisted, but since it had become like this, she had to struggle as much as possible.

-Well, just wait a little.

-Until when?

At that question, Cheon Yuhwa answered with a small laugh.

-Until we hunt the dragon.

◎ ◎ ◎

Sernia, who had been sitting and concentrating on summoning the Nephilim, slowly moved his head.

Because he had felt a being that had pierced through the twisted space and descended here.

If it were just that, Sernia's head would not have turned.

Because the only thing Sernia was interested in was his father.

But the familiar presence he had felt after a very long time made Sernia's head move reflexively.

Sernia looked at the twisted space with eyes that held a little expectation and a little resignation.

"Hmm, thanks to the thorough preparations, I arrived much faster than I thought."

And what appeared there was a human with red hair.

He knew that Muel wouldn't come, but seeing it with his own two eyes, a slight sense of disappointment washed over Sernia's chest.

Is that why?

Sernia uncharacteristically opened his mouth first and started a conversation.

-Human, how do you have Muel's presence?

"Huh? Ah, it's nothing much, I just made a deal. As a result, I received a Dragon Heart."

Lee Shin calmly admitted that he had killed Muel.

The moment he heard those words, Sernia's chest stirred slightly, but since he had expected it to some extent when Lee Shin appeared, exuding Muel's mana, Sernia focused on the other side.

-What was the deal?

At Sernia's question, Lee Shin looked at him with a grinning face and said.

"He said he'd give me everything he had, so I should definitely kill you."

-Is that so...

Sernia calmly accepted Lee Shin's words and nodded his head.

"What, you're taking it easier than I expected? I heard you two were close, but was that not the case? Or are you thinking it's natural since you fought to the death at the end?"

-Did you not hear anything from Muel?

At Sernia's question, Lee Shin lightly nodded his head.

"Yeah, he said I should hear the details from you."

At Lee Shin's words, Sernia quietly looked at him.

In a corner of his mind, he wondered if his current actions had any meaning, but thinking of it as the last words of a dead friend, he felt that he could listen.

-The moment Father commanded us to absorb other worlds, Muel disobeyed Father's will and told me to run away. And I, unable to accept Muel's proposal, fought with him.

Muel probably knew that a future like this would unfold from the moment he first heard those words from his father.

A future where the affection directed at them would gradually cool and that affection would be directed elsewhere, and they would gradually be used as tools.

Therefore, Muel had proposed to Sernia that they run away together, but Sernia had rejected that proposal and chosen to stand on the side of his father, God.

He was afraid of turning his back on the person who gave him affection and going out into the world alone, and he wanted to live each day receiving his father's affection, even if it meant being a tool.

-I rejected Muel's goodwill and chose to remain under Father for the sake of my base desires. That is all I can tell you.

Sernia calmly confessed to Lee Shin what could be called his shame.

It was a respect he was showing, thinking of him, who exuded Muel's mana, as the last will Muel had left behind.

"To put it simply, it's a family feud?"

-No, it's just that I foolishly kicked away Muel's goodwill.

Muel would have been sad to see him suffer like this and live a life that was not a life, as a tool.

'And he would have wished that I would no longer suffer as a tool.'

There must have been such a hidden story behind sending Lee Shin to him and asking him to end his life.

Although it wasn't said in words, Sernia could tell.

Because although they were twisted now, they had been a family that had spent a long time together.

-That is all I can tell you, human.

But unfortunately, he could not grant that request, neither in the past nor now.

Sernia had chosen to remain under God, receiving affection as a tool, not affection.

And Sernia had no intention of changing that choice.

Even if it meant trampling on Muel's will once again, he intended to continue with his own stubbornness.

The moment Sernia declared so, Lee Shin nodded his head and glanced away.

"Are you satisfied with the conversation?"

"Yes, I'm satisfied. Thanks to that, I roughly understand the situation."

The moment Lee Shin lightly opened his mouth, a flash of light appeared next to him, and someone new appeared.

It was not a thought-form like before, but the form of Irhegue, who clearly had a physical body.

Irhegue stomped on the ground with his feet and said.

"And after thinking about it, it's right to kill that guy."

"What, you're being strict, unlike when you met Muel. He's also a dragon, but you're not making a fuss. Do you not remember when you were a tadpole, frog?"

"Do not compare me to such a lowly creature!"

Irhegue, who had shot back at Lee Shin, said, looking at Sernia with fierce eyes.

"Muel was a dragon with pride. The way he moved with his own beliefs shone brightly. In contrast, that guy is a piece of junk with no will or pride of his own."

Hmph-!

Irhegue said with a snort.

"I will never acknowledge such a guy as a dragon."

"Your standards are stricter than I thought."

Lee Shin said so and laughed, then extended a hand toward Irhegue.

"Well, it's a good thing you've got the will to fight."

Irhegue did not bother to answer and took Lee Shin's hand.

At that moment, Irhegue's body scattered and was absorbed into Lee Shin, and at the same time, Lee Shin's heart pounded loudly.

[Dragon Madness] activated and transformed Lee Shin's body.

The change that occurred after absorbing Muel's heart and the Yeouiju was the most intense so far.

Scales, as if wearing armor, appeared on the vital points of his entire body, and his fingernails, toenails, and fangs boasted a sharpness that could be used as weapons on their own.

"Hmm, I didn't expect the change to be this dramatic."

Lee Shin touched the horns that had sprouted on his head as if they were strange, and then glanced at his own body.

The scales were red, and the horns were golden.

And his pupils, which held both those colors, were emitting a deeper glow than usual.

-It seems he wasn't sent to persuade me.

"Of course, didn't I tell you at the beginning?"

Lee Shin laughed, feeling the huge power squirming within him.

"I came to kill you at Muel's request."

Lee Shin said so and quietly took out the [Yagong] from his subspace, held it, and then glanced at his status window.

[Status]

Name: Lee Shin

Level: 9

Body: Heavenly Killing Body

Blessing: Blessing of the Heavenly Killing Star / Blessing of Gaia

First Path: Dragon Madness

Second Path: Demonic Ghost

Third Path: Heaven Defying

Strength IX: 3738

Agility IX: 5422

Sense IX: 4781

Intelligence IX: 4409

Internal Energy: 5610

The status that had grown explosively after eating Muel's blood and flesh and chewing his bones appeared before Lee Shin.

Did he feel something from Lee Shin's appearance?

Or was it just a courtesy to Muel, who had entrusted everything to the card of Lee Shin?

Sernia said nothing and quietly looked at Lee Shin's appearance.

And that situation gently brought up a memory within Sernia.

The memory of the time he had his first life-and-death battle with Muel.

(End of Chapter)